Category 2014 Morsels

Dexamethasone for Asthma

Reactive airway disease is a prevalent problem and, therefore, a common topic for the Morsels.  We have discussed my preference for MDIs over Nebs as well as the utility of Magnesium.  In addition, we have covered mechanical ventilation for asthma…

Lactate Level in Kids

Patients’ families often present to us requesting “bloodwork” to make sure that the child is not “sick” or to tell them “what’s wrong.”  While we all know that no lab can be used to proclaim complete certainty of a patient’s…

Rectal Prolapse

  Parental concerns, appropriately, drive a lot of the traffic to our Emergency Departments.  Managing concerns and expectations is part of the art of what we do.  When a child develops Rectal Prolapse, there are often a lot of concerns,…

Occult Abusive Abdominal Injury

  Numerous trauma related topics have been covered within the Morsels (ex, pneumothorax, c-spine injury, aortic trauma, head trauma), but, unfortunately, not all trauma that children suffer is accidental. Non-accidental Trauma / Child Abuse is a prevalent concern for us as we care…

Pneumomediastinum

Every so often you encounter a patient that has a finding that catches you by surprise.  Like having air in places that should not have air in them.  We have discussed spontaneous pneumothorax and traumatic pneumothorax in children as well as how to…

Medication Errors

Certainly, the PedEM Morsels promote a need for vigilance!  Vigilance is required to find those troublesome conditions that masquerade as benign conditions (see Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Meningococcemia, and Neonatal Seizures for a few examples).  Vigilance, however, is not just…

Developmental Milestones in the ED

Full Disclosure: I am the proud product of Combined Emergency Medicine and Pediatric training (thank you mentors Mattu, Rogers, Winters, Carraccio et al at U of Maryland).  As such, I worked nearly equal amounts of time in the Emergency Department…