Category Critical Care

Hypothermia in a Neonate

Well, it is officially cold now and this fact was highlighted during my last shift in the Peds ED when two patients presented with parents concerned for their children having “low temperatures.” This begs the questions (and was actually later…

Minor Closed Head Injury – the 3 month old Caveat

Minor Closed Head Injury – The 3 month old Caveat We are all accustomed to the issues that surround pediatric head injury. • Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. • Prompt management of patients…

Transillumination for and Aspiration of Pneumothorax in Neonates

We mentioned in last week’s Morsel that for neonates not responding to resuscitative efforts, that you can transilluminate the chest to determine if there is a pneumothorax present. Let’s finish that discussion: Neonates are prone to developing a pneumothorax. Lack…

Neonatal Resuscitation

It is October and all of the stores have their scariest Halloween devices out… but nothing will make you loose your breath more quickly than a woman delivering precipitously in your ED! When you are awoken from your regular workflow…

Tapping a VP Shunt

The number of technology dependent children that we see seems to steadily be increasing. These technologies can be quite beneficial for the patient, but are associated with potential complications and issues. Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts certainly benefit patients who have hydrocephalus;…

Acute Rheumatic Fever – Don’t Forget about it!

              We’ve discussed Strep Pharyngitis (12/3/2010) and how in treating it we are primarily focusing on preventing Rheumatic Heart Disease. It is certainly safe to say that we’ve done a great job of reducing…

Staph Scalded-Skin Syndrome

    The Chief Complaint of “rash” is such a misleading complaint. It seems so innocuous…“I’ll just run in this room real quick and diagnose non-specific viral rash in a well appearing kid and be done.” But, we all know…