Fifteen-minute consultation: a guide to paediatric major haemorrhage.

Major trauma is a principal cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Severe haemorrhage is the second-leading cause of death in paediatric trauma, preceded by traumatic brain injury. Major haemorrhage protocols (MHPs), also known as 'code red' and 'massive transfusion protocols', are used to make large volumes of blood products rapidly available. Most recommendations for paediatric MHPs are extrapolated from adult data because of a lack of large, high-quality, prospective paediatric studies. However, applying adult data in a paediatric context requires caution due to differences in injury mechanisms and physiological responses between adults and children. Since major haemorrhage is a high-acuity low-occurrence event, MHP requires effective training, collaboration and communication among a large multidisciplinary team.In this 15-minute consultation, we provide an evidence-based synthesis of the management principles of paediatric major haemorrhage.

Identification of Human-Generated vs AI-Generated Research Abstracts by Health Care Professionals.

This survey study assesses the ability of health care professionals to discern whether abstracts were written by investigators or by an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.

Rapid Development and Testing of a COVID-19 Vaccine Curriculum for Pediatricians.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic evolves and vaccines become available to children, pediatricians must navigate vaccination discussions in the setting of rapidly changing vaccine recommendations and approvals. We developed and evaluated an educational curriculum for pediatricians to improve their knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines and confidence in communicating with patients and families about COVID-19 vaccines. METHODS: Five institutions collaborated to develop an online educational curriculum. Utilizing the collaboration's multidisciplinary expertise, we developed a 3-module curriculum focused on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and vaccine basics, logistics and administration of COVID-19 vaccine, and COVID-19 vaccine communication principles. Surveys administered to clinician participants before and after completion of the curriculum assessed knowledge and confidence; a follow-up survey 1 month after the post-survey assessed persistence of initial findings. RESULTS: A total of 152 pediatric providers participated; 72 completed both pre- and post-surveys. The median knowledge score improved from the pre-survey to the post-survey (79%-93%, P < .001). There was an increase in providers' confidence after completing the curriculum, which persisted in the follow-up survey. In the post-survey, 98% of participants had had the opportunity to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine with patients, and most clinicians reported that the modules decreased apprehension some or significantly. CONCLUSIONS: This project demonstrates rapid and feasible deployment of a curriculum providing up-to-date information to front-line clinicians responsible for having complex conversations about COVID-19 vaccine decision-making. Clinicians who completed this curriculum had sustained increased confidence and decreased levels of apprehension when discussing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Evaluation of Communication and Safety Behaviors During Hospital-Wide Code Response Simulation.

INTRODUCTION: To understand the baseline quality of team communication behaviors at our organization, we implemented institution-wide simulation training and measured the performance of safety behaviors of ad hoc teams in emergent situations. METHODS: Clinicians participated in 2 interprofessional video-recorded simulation scenarios, each followed by debriefing. Using a standardized evaluation instrument, 2 reviewers independently evaluated the presence or absence of desired team safety behaviors, including escalating care, sharing a mental model, establishing leadership, thinking out loud, and identifying roles and responsibilities. We also scored the quality of sharing the mental model, closed-loop communication, and overall team performance on a 7-point scale. Discordant reviews were resolved with scoring by an additional reviewer. RESULTS: A total of 1404 clinicians participated in 398 simulation scenarios, resulting in 257 usable videos. Overall, teams exhibited desired behaviors at the following frequencies: escalating care, 85%; sharing mental models, 66%; verbally establishing leadership, 6%; thinking out loud, 87%; and identifying roles and responsibilities, 27%. Across all reviews, the quality of the graded behaviors (of 7 points) was 2.8 for shared mental models, 3.3 for closed-loop communication, and 3.2 for overall team performance. CONCLUSIONS: In a simulation setting with ad hoc teams, there was variable performance on completing safety behaviors and only a fair quality of graded communication behaviors. These results establish a baseline assessment of communication and teamwork behaviors and will guide future quality improvement interventions.

Reduction of Radiation Exposure From C-Arm Fluoroscopy During Orthopaedic Trauma Operations With Introduction of Real-Time Dosimetry.

OBJECTIVES: The use of fluoroscopy for indirect guidance in orthopaedic trauma surgery has increased. The purpose of this investigation was to assess how real-time visualization of radiation exposure impacts dose levels during orthopaedic trauma operations. DESIGN: Observational comparative study. SETTING: Level 1 trauma center orthopaedic trauma surgery operating room. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: The participants in this study were 83 patients with fractures of the ankle, tibia, femur, or acetabulum receiving definitive surgical fixation of their fracture; children under 18 years of age were excluded from the study. Fellowship trained orthopaedic trauma surgeons, resident orthopaedic surgeons, radiology technicians, and scrub nurses involved in the operations on included fracture patients were also participants. INTERVENTION: Real-time radiation exposure feedback from the Philips DoseAware device. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Radiation exposure from fluoroscopy compared between phase 1, during which participants were blinded to exposure levels, and phase 2, during which participants were able to see exposure levels in real time. RESULTS: Overall mean radiation exposure was decreased by 60% in phase 2 compared with phase 1 (P = 0.023). Mean surgeon (MS; average of primary and assistant surgeon) and mean nonsurgeon personnel (average of x-ray technician, scrub nurse, and patient) radiation exposures were decreased from phase 1 to phase 2, by 58% and 80%, respectively (MS, P = 0.034; mean nonsurgeon personnel, P = 0.043). From phase 1 to phase 2, MS radiation for femoral shaft fractures decreased by 80% or 162.0 µSv (P = 0.02) and by 81% or 128.9 µSv (P = 0.014) for acetabular fractures. DISCUSSION: Our data demonstrate that real-time visualization of radiation exposure during orthopaedic trauma operations can decrease radiation exposure in the highest exposure cases. Further research is necessary to determine whether the reduction in radiation exposure is sustained over time and to understand how real-time radiation exposure data mitigates exposure. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Association of atypical femoral fractures with bisphosphonate use by patients with varus hip geometry.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence associating "atypical" femoral fractures with prolonged exposure to bisphosphonate therapy. The cause of these fractures is unknown and likely multifactorial. This study evaluated the hypothesis that patients with primary osteoporosis who sustain atypical femoral fracture(s) while on chronic bisphosphonate therapy have a more varus proximal femoral geometry than patients who use bisphosphonates for primary osteoporosis but do not sustain a femoral fracture. METHODS: The femoral neck-shaft angle was measured on the radiographs of 111 patients with atypical femoral shaft fracture(s) and thirty-three asymptomatic patients; both groups were on chronic bisphosphonate therapy. Patients with characteristic lateral cortical thickening, stress lines, and thigh pain were included in the fracture group. RESULTS: The mean neck-shaft angle of the patients who sustained atypical femoral fracture(s) while taking bisphosphonates (case group) differed significantly from that of the patients on bisphosphonate therapy without a fracture (129.5° versus 133.8°; p < 0.001). Fifty-three (48%) of the patients in the case group had a neck-shaft angle that was lower than the lowest angle in the control group (128°). Side-to-side comparison in patients with a unilateral pathologic involvement and an asymptomatic contralateral lower limb did not demonstrate any significant difference between the neck-shaft angles in the two limbs. CONCLUSIONS: Patients on chronic bisphosphonate therapy who presented with atypical femoral fracture(s) had more varus proximal femoral geometry than those who took bisphosphonates without sustaining a fracture. Although no causative effect can be determined, a finding of varus geometry may help to better identify patients at risk for fracture after long-term bisphosphonate use.