Accident ofídic / Accidente ofídico / Ophidic accident

Introducció. L’accident ofídic és un motiu d’hospitalitzacióa Catalunya, sobretot en època estival. Tot i que és unmotiu d’ingrés infreqüent, presenta una mortalitat no negligible. Sobre la base d’un cas clínic, se’n revisa el maneig iel tractament, sovint desconegut.Cas clínic. Pacient de 12 anys ingressada per accident ofídic i reacció al verí amb afectació cutània local i analítica.Necessita ingrés a la unitat de cures intensives, administració de sèrum antiofídic i dessensibilització a aquestabans de l’administració subcutània.Comentaris. Es presenta el cas amb l’objectiu de revisar els criteris d’ingrés, les proves analítiques i els criteris d’administració (via i dosi) del sèrum antiofídic. (AU)

Introducción. El accidente ofídico es un motivo de hospitalizaciónen Cataluña, sobre todo en época estival. Aunque es un motivo deingreso infrecuente, presenta una mortalidad no despreciable. Enbase a un caso clínico, se intenta revisar su manejo y tratamiento,a menudo desconocido.Caso clínico. Paciente de 12 años ingresada en el centro por accidente ofídico y reacción al veneno con afectación cutánea local yanalítica. Precisa ingreso hospitalario en unidad de cuidados intensivos, administración de suero antiofídico y realización de desensibilización a este, antes de su administración subcutánea.Comentarios. Se presenta el caso con el objetivo de revisar loscriterios de ingreso, pruebas analíticas y criterios de administración (vía y dosis) del suero antiofídico. (AU)

Introduction. Ophidic accidents are a cause for hospitalization inCatalonia, especially during summer. Despite their rarity, mortalityrate is not negligible. In this report we review the management ofophidic accidents.Case report. A 12-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital dueto an ophidic accident with severe local reaction to the venom,together with laboratory alterations, who required hospitalization in the intensive care unit and administration of antiophidic serumwith previous desensitization.Comments. The case is presented with the aim of reviewing theadmission criteria, laboratory tests and administration criteria(route and dose) of the antiophidic serum. (AU)

Assessment of proadrenomedullin as diagnostic or prognostic biomarker of acute appendicitis in children with acute abdominal pain.

BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis (AA) is one of the most frequent surgical pathologies in pediatrics. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the utility of proadrenomedullin (pro-ADM) for the diagnosis of AA. METHODS: Prospective, analytical, observational, and multicenter study conducted in 6 pediatric emergency departments. Children up to 18 years of age with suspected AA were included. Clinical, epidemiological, and analytical data were collected. RESULTS: We studied 285 children with an average age of 9.5 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.1-9.9). AA was diagnosed in 103 children (36.1%), with complications in 10 of them (9.7%). The mean concentration of pro-ADM (nmol/L) was higher in children with AA (0.51 nmol/L, SD 0.16) than in children with acute abdominal pain (AAP) of another etiology (0.44 nmol/L, SD 0.14; p < 0.001). This difference was greater in complicated cases compared with uncomplicated AA (0.64 nmol/L, SD 0.17 and 0.50 nmol/L, SD 0.15, respectively; p = 0.005). The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves were 0.66 (95% CI, 0.59-0.72) for pro-ADM, 0.70 (95% CI, 0.63-0.76) for C-reactive protein (CRP), 0.84 (95% CI, 0.79-0.89) for neutrophils, and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.79-0.89) for total leukocytes. The most reliable combination to rule out AA was CRP ≤1.25 mg/dL and pro-ADM ≤0.35 nmol/L with a sensitivity of 96% and a negative predictive value of 93%. CONCLUSION: Children with AA presented higher pro-ADM values than children with AAP of other etiologies, especially in cases of complicated AA. The combination of low values of pro-ADM and CRP can help to select children with low risk of AA.