Lawn Mower Injuries
Well, in the northern hemisphere the weather is making my lawn look awesome!! Why we are obsessed with green lawns, I don’t know, but I can’t judge as I also enjoy a lush lawn. Unfortunately, all of this obsessive behavior…
Category Critical Care
Pediatric SHOCK Index
Fortunately, the critically ill child is not as common in the Emergency Department as the critically ill adult. Unfortunately, when the critically ill child does arrive, it can be challenging to recognize him/her initially. This can lead to delays in…
Laundry Detergent Pod Toxicity
We have discussed previously how poisonings (Childhood Injury) is one of the top leading causes of death in children. Obviously, knowing your friendly, neighborhood toxicologist or the number to the local Poison Control Center is very helpful when working in…
Low Risk for Intra Abdominal Trauma
We have discussed pediatric trauma several times within the PedEM Morsels (Splenic Injury, Head Injury, Pneumothorax, etc), because it is often a source of trepidation, confusion and concern. This often leads to over-reliance on ionizing radiation to help alleviate concern. Naturally, this is…
Spleen Injury
Recently we discussed abusive occult abdominal injuries and how a high index of suspicion is often required as the physical exam can be misleading. The same is true with respect to accidental injuries, which are the leading cause of morbidity…
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…
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…