Labs or CT scans are not necessary to provide additional diagnostic information or reassurance for most children who recover completely following simple febrile seizures or unprovoked first time generalized seizures. The rate of abnormalities on these studies is very low, and the cost and downsides are too high to justify ordering them on a regular basis.
Abdominal migraines are a real thing and are characterized by abdominal pain that is dull, constant, periumbilical and hard to localize. Children also have at least two of the following; pallor, anorexia, nausea, and/or vomiting.
PEMPix is the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Emergency Medicine’s annual visual diagnosis competition. This year, in addition to the 10 finalists I will be presenting at the National Conference and Exhibition I will be sharing four cases online in advance of the conference. This is the first of the four cases. See if you can conquer all four "mountains" and guess the correct diagnosis.
3% hypertonic saline is a critical treatment for children with elevated intracranial pressure. Learn about how to administer this crucial medication with a focus on the evidence behind its use.
Breath holding spells are common and often mistaken for seizures or more worrisome events. Learn about the basic types and clinical presentation in this post.
This episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine podcast focuses on dealing with delirium and is part of a collaboration with the POPCoRN Network.
I have partnered with POPCoRN, the Pediatric Overflow Planning Contingency Response Network to deliver content that will benefit those of us who may have been asked to care for adults both in their native habitat, and in our pediatric facilities. Marie Pfarr, a Hospital Medicine physician from Cincinnati Children's delivers some timely content on stroke in adults in this brief, focused episode.
Status epileptics can be very stressful in the Pediatric Emergency Department. This episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast focuses on management, and will guide you through the treatment process, starting with benzodiazepines, followed by a discussion of the recent evidence for second line therapy between fosphenytoin, levetiracetam, and valproate.
This post details pediatric specific considerations from the recent ESETT trial on second line therapy in status epilepticus.
Do you need to do an LP if a child has a complex febrile seizure? Probably not. Why not? Read this post to learn about the evidence, where the guidelines are lacking and more.