FEVER! It demands a lot of our attention when caring for children. Appropriately, it has also been baked into many delicious Morsels. Certainly, there are numerous Infectious Diseases to consider and, of course, there are concerns when we can’t discern…
It often seems that we are on the search for the omnipresent Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in the Pediatric ED. “You have fever? Let’s check the urine.” “You have belly pain? Let’s check the urine.” “You think your urine smells funny?…
Once again the Ped EM Morsels will address a topic that accentuates the fact that children are not aliens to be feared, but rather a special population of humans. Yes, children can be afflicted with conditions traditionally considered in adults…
One of the great aspects of working in my ED is being surrounded by a multitude of amazing and brilliant teammates. One, Dr. Christyn Magill, recently provoked this Morsel of knowledge: just because it ends in “-itis” does not mean…
Last week we discussed making the diagnosis of an urinary tract infection. Essentially, we reinforced the fact that we can only make a presumptive diagnosis of UTI in the ED. In some situations, you may prefer to await the urine…
Often, it seems as if the quest for “an answer” can cause us to see what is not there. This is particularly problematic with respect to the quest to decipher the cause of fever. Appropriately, we may consider the potential…
The modern era of vaccinations (Prevnar and HiB) have drastically reduced the risk of serious bacterial infections in our young febrile patients. But, unfortunately, Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) are not affected by the modern vaccines and, therefore must still be…
Urinalysis A Urinalysis consists of 3 components: Macroscopic (color, clarity, specific gravity) Reagent Strip (chemical analysis) Microscopic There is often variation in providers working regarding which method should be used to evaluate a patient for a…
