The latest medical research on Paediatric Emergency Medicine

Cervical spinal immobilisation procedures often include rigid cervical collars which, despite associated complications, may provide less immobilisation than previously thought. The present study reports the incidence of worsening neurological outcomes following soft collar application, and additionally reports patient comfort, compliance with spinal immobilisation, and paramedic perspectives on usage.

This was an observational cohort study conducted in selected metropolitan and regional areas of NSW Ambulance between 1 May 2022 and 31 March 2023. Soft collars were used exclusively in place of rigid collars. The SPEED (SPinal Emergency Evaluation of Deficits) tool was used to evaluate new or worsening neurological deficits following pre-hospital soft collar application. Secondary outcomes included patient-reported comfort of the device, and paramedic assessment of efficacy.

Overall, 2098 soft collars were applied, of which 74 patients (3.5%) were subsequently found to have a cervical spine injury. Eight patients had a spinal cord injury, of which two experienced a worsening neurological deficit after soft collar application. In both instances, comprehensive case reviews determined that this was unlikely to have been attributable to the soft collar. The majority of patients found the soft collar comfortable, and they were well-tolerated by patients who generally complied with immobility directions. Paramedics found the collar easy to apply, and felt it assisted in minimising patient movement.

Pre-hospital use of soft collars does not appear to increase the risk of significant injury. Patients found these devices relatively comfortable, and clinicians reported overall ease of use with good patient compliance with immobility directives.

The present study aimed to identify the impact of age on current trauma team activation (TTA) processes and outcomes for patients with pelvic fractures.

Adult patients with moderate and/or severe pelvic fractures (Abbreviated Injury Scale ≥ 2) between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2021 were included utilising major trauma hospital data in Queensland. Characteristics of older (age ≥ 65) and younger patients including TTA, interventions and outcomes were examined. Multivariate analysis was used to determine factors associated with TTA in older patients.

Data from 637 patients was included. Despite comparable injury severity, a TTA was activated in fewer older people (older: 65% vs. younger: 79%, P < 0.001). Older patients had more falls leading to the trauma presentation (54.4% vs. 22.6%, P < 0.001), with higher initial systolic BP (131 vs. 125 mmHg, P = 0.04). Outcomes were worse for older people, with greater rates of in-hospital complications (27.2% vs. 16.4%, P = 0.004), and longer hospital stays (12 vs. 8 days, P = 0.04). Fewer older patients could be discharged independently to home (46.3% vs. 74.5%, P < 0.001). In older patients, falls and haemodynamic parameters were strongly associated with the reduced likelihood of TTA (fall mechanism [odds ratio (OR)] 0.33; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.15-0.74; P = 0.01; systolic BP [OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.97-0.99; P = 0.03], heart rate [OR 0.97; 95% CI 0.95-0.99; P = 0.02]).

Current TTA criteria based on higher energy mechanisms and traditional vital sign thresholds are inadequate for identifying injury in older patients. Sensitive triage criteria and increased clinician awareness are required to enhance injury recognition and improve outcomes in older trauma patients.

This is the first population-based study quantifying the incidence of nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly and/or brachycephaly (PPB) in infancy and its association with developmental disorders.

To report the incidence of PPB before age 1 year, the incidence of craniosynostosis, and the percentage of children with PPB diagnosed with a developmental disorder by age 7 years.

This was a retrospective, population-based cohort study of children in the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) born in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2012, with follow-up through age 7 years. Data were analyzed from March 2021 to April 2024.

Physical examination detecting cranial deformity.

The primary outcome was the incidence of PPB. Secondary outcomes were the incidence of craniosynostosis and the percentage of children with PPB diagnosed with a developmental disorder by age 7 years.

Of 9909 infants (5084 [51.3%] male; 9205 [92.9%] born at term and 704 [7.1%] born preterm) included in the study, 575 had PPB, for a PPB incidence of 5.8% (95% CI, 5.3%-6.3%). The incidence of PPB was 5.3% (95% CI, 4.8%-5.8%) in term infants vs 11.8% (95% CI, 9.4%-14.6%) in preterm infants. The incidence of craniosynostosis was 0.16% (95% CI, 0.09%-0.26%). A developmental disorder was known or suspected in 4.2% (95% CI, 2.7%-6.2%) of infants at the time of PPB diagnosis; among 402 infants with PPB and follow-up through age 7 years, 30 (7.5%; 95% CI, 5.0%-10.7%) had a confirmed developmental disorder by 7 years of age. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children with a history of PPB who were followed up to age 7 years was 2.2% (9 of 402 children).

This study found that only a small percentage of the infants had positional head deformity significant enough to be documented and/or referred for subspecialty evaluation, and only a small subset of these children went on to have a developmental disorder in childhood. This information is helpful for counseling families about their child's developmental risk at time of PPB diagnosis.

The objective was to investigate the feasibility of prospectively validating multiple clinical prediction scores (CPSs) for pediatric appendicitis in an Australian pediatric emergency department (ED).

A literature search was conducted to identify potential CPSs and a single-center prospective observational feasibility study was performed between November 2022 and May 2023 to evaluate the performance of identified CPSs. Children 5-15 years presenting with acute right-sided or generalized abdominal pain and clinician suspicion of appendicitis were included. CPSs were calculated by the study team from prospectively clinician-collected data and/or review of medical records. Accuracy of CPSs were assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and proportions correctly identifiable as either low-risk or high-risk with the best performing CPS compared to clinician gestalt. Final diagnosis of appendicitis was confirmed on histopathology or by telephone/email follow-up for those discharged directly from ED.

Thirty CPSs were identified in the literature search and 481 patients were enrolled in the study. A total of 150 (31.2%) patients underwent appendectomy with three (2.0%) having a normal appendix on histopathology. All identified CPSs were calculable for at least 50% of the patient cohort. The pediatric Appendicitis Risk Calculator for pediatric EDs (pARC-ED; n = 317) was the best performing CPS with AUC 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-0.94) and specificity 99.0% (95% CI 96.4%-99.7%) in diagnosing high-risk cases and a misclassification rate of 4.5% for low-risk cases.

The study identified 30 CPSs that could be validated in a majority of patients to compare their ability to assess risk of pediatric appendicitis. The pARC-ED had the highest predictive accuracy and can potentially assist in risk stratification of children with suspected appendicitis in pediatric EDs. A multicenter study is now under way to evaluate the potential of these CPSs in a broader range of EDs to aid clinical decision making in more varied settings.