More than Meets the Eye: Orbital Swelling in an Adolescent with Sickle Cell Disease.

Periorbital swelling is a clinical presentation with a broad differential and potentially deleterious consequence. Causes range from benign, including allergic reaction, to vision- and life-threatening, including orbital cellulitis and orbital infarction. The recent climate of SARS-CoV-2 has further complicated this differential, as the virus poses broad clinical presentations with new manifestations reported frequently. Rapid identification of the underlying etiology is crucial, as treatment approaches diverge greatly. Here, we report the case of an African American adolescent male with a history of homozygous sickle cell anemia presenting to an inner city hospital with bilateral periorbital swelling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Differentials, including orbital cellulitis, COVID-MIS-C, orbital inflammatory syndrome, Hoagland sign, and orbital infarction secondary to sickle cell crisis are contrasted. We contrast our case with 12 case reports of orbital infarction in the setting of sickle cell crisis within the past 10 years, highlighting how these presentations, along with commonly reported findings of orbital infarction, compare with our patient.

Assessment of Patient Safety Culture in a Pediatric Department.

Background An assessment of the prevalent culture needs to be the first step when building patient safety programs in healthcare organizations to achieve high-quality health care. Objective To conduct a baseline assessment of patient safety culture, to provide insight into the factors that contribute to patient safety, and to use the information to make improvements.  Methods The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (PSC) questionnaire was conducted from October through December 2020 at the Brookdale Hospital Medical Center (BHMC) Pediatric departments (Pediatric Inpatient Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit [NICU], Pediatric Intensive Care Unit [PICU], and Pediatric Emergency Department) and four community-based ambulatory pediatric practices (Brookdale Family Care Centers [BFCC]). The percentages of positive responses on the 12 patient-safety dimensions and the summation of PSC and two outcomes (overall patient safety grade and adverse events reported in the past year) were assessed. Factors associated with PSC aggregate score were analyzed. Results From the 385 emails that were sent, 136 surveys were considered for analysis. This gives us a response rate of 35.3%. Most of the participants were nurses (58%) with direct contact with patients (94.2%). Most respondents did not report any events (60.7%), whereas 30.3% reported 1-2 events in the past year. The patient safety composites with the highest positive scores were teamwork within units (78%), supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting patient safety (71.2%), and organizational learning--continuous improvement (66.8%). The composites with the lowest scores were non-punitive response to error (35.9%) and staffing (38%). Conclusions All of our composite measures, with the exception of teamwork within units, appear to be low, which means that all the other composite measures require interventions for improvement of overall safety culture. In order for healthcare leaders and policymakers to establish a culture of safety and improvement, they must create a climate of open communication, continuous learning, and eliminate the fear of blame and punitive feedback.

Spontaneous Umbilical Cord Hematoma.

Spontaneous umbilical cord hematoma is a rare complication with a usually benign course but is potentially fatal without vigilant and timely medical intervention. We present the case of a 23-year-old primigravida mother who presented in labor. She was placed on continuous fetal heart rate monitoring, which showed two episodes of fetal heart rate tracing of the category II variety. The labor was induced with oxytocin, and the ammonitic membrane was incised artificially. The baby was male, term at 38 weeks, with an appropriate weight, length, and head circumference. There was no gross anomaly or dysmorphic features; the APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration) score of the baby was 9 and 9 at the first and fifth minutes, respectively. A 4.5 cm hematoma was discovered on the umbilical cord immediately following delivery. He was admitted to the regular nursery for routine newborn care and was discharged home in stable condition.  Spontaneous umbilical cord hematoma is usually due to the rupture of the umbilical vein. Mostly, the umbilical cord hematoma occurs spontaneously and often follows a benign course, however, in some cases, the perinatal loss secondary to umbilical cord hematoma could very high, especially if associated with abnormal fetal heart rate tracing. Because of the potential for fatality inherent in this condition and to understand the clinical manifestations, risk factors, and eventual course of spontaneous cord hematoma, we present this case to help fellow pediatricians reduce morbidity and mortality associated with it.