Pediatric emergency medicine: Optimizing risk assessment and safety netting in children with infectious diseases

Introduction In the introduction, the importance of good quality pediatric emergency care is explained. Acute illnesses in children differ among countries and settings. Regarding our population of the ED at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1) we still observe mortality, although rare, 2) 45% of children with medical (non-trauma) complaints suffer from infectious diseases and 3) the number of revisits is high. As the main focus in research in pediatric emergency medicine has been on the development of good quality guidelines, we aimed to improve early recognition and treatment (aim 1), the implementation and use of guidelines (aim 2) and the discharge process after the ED visit (aim 3). How to (early) recognize and treat patients at risk for serious infections or a complicated disease course (in developed low-prevalence) countries- decision making at the ED (aim 1) In order to answer these research questions, the importance of early recognition of serious infections in general is addressed in chapter 2: ‘Malpractice in pediatric emergency care in the Netherlands- what can we learn?’ Nineteen malpractice lawsuits are described, of which 16 were acknowledged. Important lessons learned are: 1) Pediatricians need to be awareIn this thesis we aimed to improve risk assessment and safety netting at the Emergency Department (ED) in children with infectious diseases. We focus on: 1. Early recognition and treatment of a vulnerable population of children at the ED 2. Optimizing the implementation and use of guidelines and clinical decision support 3. Improving the process of discharge from the E

Characteristics of revisits of children at risk for serious infections in pediatric emergency care

In this study, we aimed to identify characteristics of (unscheduled) revisits and its optimal time frame after Emergency Department (ED) discharge. Children with fever, dyspnea, or vomiting/diarrhea (1 month–16 years) who attended the ED of Erasmus MC-Sophia, Rotterdam (2010–2013), the Netherlands, were prospectively included. Three days after ED discharge, we applied standardized telephonic questionnaires on disease course and revisits. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent characteristics of revisits. Young age, parental concern, and alarming signs and symptoms (chest wall retractions, ill appearance, clinical signs of dehydration, and tachypnea) were associated with revisits (n = 527) in children at risk for serious infections discharged from the ED (n = 1765). Children revisited the ED within a median of 2 days (IQR 1.0–3.0), but this was proven to be shorter in children with vomiting/diarrhea (1.0 day (IQR 1.0–2.0)) compared to children with fever or dyspnea (2.0 (IQR 1.0–3.0)). Conclusion: Young age, parental concern, and alarming signs and symptoms (chest wall retractions, ill appearance, clinical signs of dehydration, and tachypnea) were associated with emergency health care revisits in children with fever, dyspnea, and vomiting/diarrhea. These characteristics could help to define targeted review of children during post-discharge period. We observed a disease specific and differential timing of control revisits after ED discharge.(Table presented.

[Alarm symptoms of meningitis in children with fever].

A 15-year-old girl presented with fever and pain in her legs. A viral infection was suspected, but within 24 hours she became confused and developed meningeal signs, based on which she was diagnosed as having meningitis. Within a few hours a 6-month-old boy developed fever, a grey colour, bulging fontanel, cold hands and feet, and was groaning. He too appeared to have meningitis. It is important to recognize this serious infection in children with fever, since delay of diagnosis and treatment may result in serious complications. Recognition is difficult because of non-specific symptoms on presentation and a lack of alarm symptoms early in the course of the disease. Alarm symptoms of serious infection in children are cyanosis, rapid breathing, decreased capillary refill, petechial rash, meningeal signs, leg pain and decreased consciousness. If serious infection is uncertain in a child with fever, parents should be advised on the potential course of the disease, the alarm symptoms and the need to seek medical help in time

Tools for 'safety netting' in common paediatric illnesses: A systematic review in emergency care

Context Follow-up strategies after emergency department (ED) discharge, alias safety netting, is often based on the gut feeling of the attending physician. Objective To systematically identify evaluated safetynetting strategies after ED discharge and to describe determinants of paediatric ED revisits. Data sources MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane central, OvidSP, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed. Study selection Studies of any design reporting on safety netting/follow-up after ED discharge and/or determinants of ED revisits for the total paediatric population or specifically for children with fever, dyspnoea and/or gastroenteritis. Outcomes included complicated course of disease after initial ED visit (eg, revisits, hospitalisation). Data extraction Two reviewers independently assessed studies for eligibility and study quality. As meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity of studies, we performed a narrative synthesis of study results. A best-evidence synthesis was used to identify the level of evidence. Results We summarised 58 studies, 36% (21/58) were assessed as having low risk of bias. Limited evidence was observed for different strategies of safety netting, with educational interventions being mostly studied. Young children, a relevant medical history, infectious/ respiratory symptoms or seizures and progression/ persistence of symptoms were strongly associated with ED revisits. Gender, emergency crowding, physicians' characteristics and diagnostic tests and/or therapeutic interventions at the index visit were not associated with revisits. Conclusions Within the heterogeneous available evidence, we identified a set of strong determinants of revisits that identify high-risk groups in need for safety netting in paediatric emergency care being related to age and clinical symptoms. Gaps remain on intervention studies concerning specific application of a uniform safety-netting strategy and its included time frame