Part of the challenge with evaluating children is the ever present concern for an unusual emergent condition masquerading as a common condition with non-specific symptoms. It is, thus, important for us to remain vigilant for these conditions, while proceeding in…
Oh, the cacophony of coughing: it is like the theme music to the Pediatric ED during the winter months. While often benign, we do need to consider many conditions that may be the cause (ex, Pneumonia, Bronchiolitis, Asthma, Heart Failure).…
Respiratory Distress is a common emergent complaint encountered when caring for children. Whether it is Out of Control Asthma or Pneumonia, or Severe Croup or Aspirated Foreign Bodies, or Bronchiolitis or Heart Failure, or Spontaneous Pneumothorax or Traumatic Pneumothorax … (goodness, that is a…
Caring for children can be rather challenging. Yes, there is a fair amount of finding ways to avoid saying “It’s Just a Virus” while conveying the fact that the child is doing just fine; however, there are also a number of…
Certainly there are many issues to consider while diagnosing and managing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), like the possibility of cerebral edema. Often, these ill patients complain of significant nausea and abdominal / chest pain as well. Before we just attribute those…
There are a number of conditions that were once very prevalent that immunizations have made less commonplace. While they may be less common, they may still occur and we should remain vigilant for them (see, Measles, Mumps, Tetanus, Pertussis). Recently,…
Respiratory illness, sepsis, and trauma are three important entities afflicting children that may lead to needing to manage a child’s airway. Airway management in the ED is a complex interplay of patient factors, clinical illness status, and provider factors that,…