Cervical Spine Injury Risk Factors in Children With Blunt Trauma

Adult prediction rules for cervical spine injury (CSI) exist; however, pediatric rules do not. Our objectives were to determine test accuracies of retrospectively identified CSI risk factors in a prospective pediatric cohort and compare them to a de novo risk model. We conducted a 4-center, prospective observational study of children 0 to 17 years old who experienced blunt trauma and underwent emergency medical services scene response, trauma evaluation, and/or cervical imaging. Emergency department providers recorded CSI risk factors. CSIs were classified by reviewing imaging, consultations, and/or telephone follow-up. We calculated bivariable relative risks, multivariable odds ratios, and test characteristics for the retrospective risk model and a de novo model. Of 4091 enrolled children, 74 (1.8%) had CSIs. Fourteen factors had bivariable associations with CSIs: diving, axial load, clotheslining, loss of consciousness, neck pain, inability to move neck, altered mental status, signs of basilar skull fracture, torso injury, thoracic injury, intubation, respiratory distress, decreased oxygen saturation, and neurologic deficits. The retrospective model (high-risk motor vehicle crash, diving, predisposing condition, neck pain, decreased neck mobility (report or exam), altered mental status, neurologic deficits, or torso injury) was 90.5% (95% confidence interval: 83.9%-97.2%) sensitive and 45.6% (44.0%-47.1%) specific for CSIs. The de novo model (diving, axial load, neck pain, inability to move neck, altered mental status, intubation, or respiratory distress) was 92.0% (85.7%-98.1%) sensitive and 50.3% (48.7%-51.8%) specific. Our findings support previously identified pediatric CSI risk factors and prospective pediatric CSI prediction rule development

Time to Positive Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Cultures in Febrile Infants ≤60 Days of Age

ObjectivesTo determine the time to positivity for bacterial pathogens and contaminants in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures in a cohort of febrile infants ≤60 days of age.MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of prospective observational multicenter study of noncritically ill infants ≤60 days of age with temperatures ≥38°C and blood cultures (December 2008 to May 2013). The main outcome was time to positivity for bacterial pathogens and contaminants.ResultsA total of 256 of 303 (84.49%) patients with positive blood cultures, and 73 of 88 (82.95%) with positive CSF cultures met inclusion criteria. Median time (interquartile range [IQR]) to positivity for blood cultures was 16.6 hours (IQR 12.6-21.9) for bacterial pathogens (n = 74) and 25.1 hours (IQR 19.8-33.0) for contaminants (n = 182); P < .001. Time to bacterial pathogen positivity was similar in infants 0 to 28 days of age (15.8 hours [IQR 12.6-21.0]) and 29 to 60 days of age (17.2 [IQR 12.9-24.3]; P = .328). Median time to positivity for CSF was 14.0 hours (IQR 1.5-21.0) for bacterial pathogens (n = 22) and 40.5 hours (IQR 21.2-62.6) for contaminants (n = 51); P < .001. A total of 82.4% (95% confidence interval, 71.8-90.3) and 81.8% (95% confidence interval, 59.7%-94.8%) of blood and CSF cultures showed bacterial pathogen positivity within 24 hours.ConclusionsAmong febrile infants ≤60 days of age, time to blood and CSF positivity was significantly shorter for bacterial pathogens than contaminants. Most blood and CSF cultures for bacterial pathogens were positive within 24 hours. With our findings, there is potential to reduce duration of hospitalization and avoid unnecessary antibiotics

Evidence-Based Guidelines for Prehospital Pain Management: Literature and Methods

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) clinicians commonly encounter patients with acute pain. A new set of evidence-based guidelines (EBG) was developed to assist in the prehospital management of pain. Our objective was to describe the methods used to develop these evidence-based guidelines for prehospital pain management. The EBG development process was supported by a previous systematic review conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) covering nine different population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) questions. A technical expert panel (TEP) was formed and added an additional pediatric-specific PICO question. Identified evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework and tabulated into Summary of Findings tables. The TEP then utilized a rigorous systematic method, including the PanelVoice function, for recommendation development which was applied to generate Evidence to Decision Tables (EtD). This process involved review of the Summary of Findings tables, asynchronous member judging, and facilitated panel discussion to generate final consensus-based recommendations. The work product described above was completed by the TEP panel from September 2020 to April 2021. For these recommendations, the overall certainty of evidence was very low or low, data for decisions on cost effectiveness and equity were lacking, and feasibility was rated well across all categories. Based on the evidence, one strong and seven conditional recommendations were made, with two PICO questions lacking sufficient evidence to generate a recommendation. We describe a protocol that leveraged established EBG development techniques, the GRADE framework in conjunction with a previous AHRQ systematic review to develop treatment recommendations for prehospital pain management. This process allowed for mitigation of many confounders due to the use of virtual and electronic communication. Our approach may inform future guideline development and increase transparency in the prehospital recommendations development processes.</p

The Yale Observation Scale Score and the Risk of Serious Bacterial Infections in Febrile Infants

To assess the performance of the Yale Observation Scale (YOS) score and unstructured clinician suspicion to identify febrile infants ≤60 days of age with and without serious bacterial infections (SBIs). We performed a planned secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of non-critically ill, febrile, full-term infants ≤60 days of age presenting to 1 of 26 participating emergency departments in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. We defined SBIs as urinary tract infections, bacteremia, or bacterial meningitis, with the latter 2 considered invasive bacterial infections. Emergency department clinicians applied the YOS (range: 6-30; normal score: ≤10) and estimated the risk of SBI using unstructured clinician suspicion (&lt;1%, 1%-5%, 6%-10%, 11%-50%, or &gt;50%). Of the 4591 eligible infants, 444 (9.7%) had SBIs and 97 (2.1%) had invasive bacterial infections. Of the 4058 infants with YOS scores of ≤10, 388 (9.6%) had SBIs (sensitivity: 51/439 [11.6%]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.8%-15.0%; negative predictive value: 3670/4058 [90.4%]; 95% CI: 89.5%-91.3%) and 72 (1.8%) had invasive bacterial infections (sensitivity 23/95 [24.2%], 95% CI: 16.0%-34.1%; negative predictive value: 3983/4055 [98.2%], 95% CI: 97.8%-98.6%). Of the infants with clinician suspicion of &lt;1%, 106 had SBIs (6.4%) and 16 (1.0%) had invasive bacterial infections. In this large prospective cohort of febrile infants ≤60 days of age, neither the YOS score nor unstructured clinician suspicion reliably identified those with invasive bacterial infections. More accurate clinical and laboratory predictors are needed to risk stratify febrile infants

Risk of Bacterial Coinfections in Febrile Infants 60 Days Old and Younger with Documented Viral Infections.

ObjectiveTo determine the risk of serious bacterial infections (SBIs) in young febrile infants with and without viral infections.Study designPlanned secondary analyses of a prospective observational study of febrile infants 60 days of age or younger evaluated at 1 of 26 emergency departments who did not have clinical sepsis or an identifiable site of bacterial infection. We compared patient demographics, clinical, and laboratory findings, and prevalence of SBIs between virus-positive and virus-negative infants.ResultsOf the 4778 enrolled infants, 2945 (61.6%) had viral testing performed, of whom 1200 (48.1%) were virus positive; 44 of the 1200 had SBIs (3.7%; 95% CI, 2.7%-4.9%). Of the 1745 virus-negative infants, 222 had SBIs (12.7%; 95% CI, 11.2%-14.4%). Rates of specific SBIs in the virus-positive group vs the virus-negative group were: UTIs (33 of 1200 [2.8%; 95% CI, 1.9%-3.8%] vs 186 of 1745 [10.7%; 95% CI, 9.2%-12.2%]) and bacteremia (9 of 1199 [0.8%; 95% CI, 0.3%-1.4%] vs 50 of 1743 [2.9%; 95% CI, 2.1%-3.8%]). The rate of bacterial meningitis tended to be lower in the virus-positive group (0.4%) than in the viral-negative group (0.8%); the difference was not statistically significant. Negative viral status (aOR, 3.2; 95% CI, 2.3-4.6), was significantly associated with SBI in multivariable analysis.ConclusionsFebrile infants ≤60 days of age with viral infections are at significantly lower, but non-negligible risk for SBIs, including bacteremia and bacterial meningitis

Risk of Bacterial Coinfections in Febrile Infants 60 Days Old and Younger with Documented Viral Infections.

ObjectiveTo determine the risk of serious bacterial infections (SBIs) in young febrile infants with and without viral infections.Study designPlanned secondary analyses of a prospective observational study of febrile infants 60 days of age or younger evaluated at 1 of 26 emergency departments who did not have clinical sepsis or an identifiable site of bacterial infection. We compared patient demographics, clinical, and laboratory findings, and prevalence of SBIs between virus-positive and virus-negative infants.ResultsOf the 4778 enrolled infants, 2945 (61.6%) had viral testing performed, of whom 1200 (48.1%) were virus positive; 44 of the 1200 had SBIs (3.7%; 95% CI, 2.7%-4.9%). Of the 1745 virus-negative infants, 222 had SBIs (12.7%; 95% CI, 11.2%-14.4%). Rates of specific SBIs in the virus-positive group vs the virus-negative group were: UTIs (33 of 1200 [2.8%; 95% CI, 1.9%-3.8%] vs 186 of 1745 [10.7%; 95% CI, 9.2%-12.2%]) and bacteremia (9 of 1199 [0.8%; 95% CI, 0.3%-1.4%] vs 50 of 1743 [2.9%; 95% CI, 2.1%-3.8%]). The rate of bacterial meningitis tended to be lower in the virus-positive group (0.4%) than in the viral-negative group (0.8%); the difference was not statistically significant. Negative viral status (aOR, 3.2; 95% CI, 2.3-4.6), was significantly associated with SBI in multivariable analysis.ConclusionsFebrile infants ≤60 days of age with viral infections are at significantly lower, but non-negligible risk for SBIs, including bacteremia and bacterial meningitis