Identification of children with a nondiagnostic ultrasound at a low appendicitis risk using a pediatric Appendicitis Risk Calculator.

OBJECTIVES: Up to 50% of ultrasounds (USs) for suspected pediatric appendicitis are nondiagnostic. While the validated low-risk clinical pediatric Appendicitis Risk Calculator (pARC) score < 15% and the low-risk US with nonvisualized appendix and no periappendiceal inflammation carry relatively low appendicitis risks, the contribution of the combination of both characteristics to this risk has never been assessed. The primary objective was to determine the proportion of children with the low-risk US-low-risk pARC combination with appendicitis. We hypothesized that this proportion would be 2.5% (upper 95% CI ≤ 5%). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 448 previously healthy children 4-17 years old at a pediatric ED with suspected appendicitis, nondiagnostic US, and persistent clinical concern about appendicitis. Two investigators abstracted demographic, clinical, and imaging data. Based on published criteria, USs were classified as low-risk or high-risk. The pARC includes seven demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables and is quantified according to the published formula. The primary outcome was appendicitis, based on the histological evidence. All nonoperated patients underwent a 1-month-follow-up to exclude delayed appendicitis diagnoses. RESULTS: Sixty of the 448 (13.4%) patients had appendicitis; 269 (60%) had low-risk US, 262 (58.4%) had low-risk pARC, and 163 (36.4%) had both characteristics. The appendicitis rates with low-risk pARC alone and low-risk US alone were 14/262 (5.4%) and 21/269 (7.8%), respectively. A total of 2/163 children (1.2%) with low-risk pARC and low-risk US had appendicitis (95% CI 0%-4.4%). Higher-risk US increased the appendicitis odds 5 (95% CI 1.54-20.55) to 11 times (95% CI 2.41-51.10) across pARC levels. The low-risk combination had sensitivity of 96.7% (95% CI 88.5%-99.6%), specificity of 41.5%, positive predictive value of 20.4%, and negative predictive value of 98.8% (95% CI 95.6%-99.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The children with low-risk pARC and low-risk US combination are unlikely to have appendicitis and can be discharged home. The presence of higher-risk US-pARC score combinations substantially increases the appendicitis risk and warrants reassessment or interval imaging.

Diagnosis of Serious Conditions Delayed in Association with Ondansetron Treatment for Vomiting in the Pediatric Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the characteristics and sought risk factors for hospitalization in children who return to the emergency department within 7 days of discharge after oral or intravenous ondansetron treatment for vomiting. The secondary aim was to determine whether the diagnosis of any serious condition had been delayed as the result of discharge after ondansetron treatment. METHODS: This retrospective analysis of the medical records of children who had been treated for vomiting with ondansetron in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department and revisited the emergency department within 7 days was performed between 2017 and 2019. We compared demographic and clinical features as well as management between hospitalized and discharged patients, focusing upon potentially delayed diagnoses of serious conditions. RESULTS: Fifty of the 89 ondansetron-treated children (56.2%) who revisited the emergency department were discharged home after their second emergency department visit and the remaining 39 (43.8%) were hospitalized. No parameter of the management of the first visit was predictive of the outcome of the revisit. Five revisit patients (5.6%) were newly diagnosed with a serious condition, with intussusception and ovarian torsion being the most substantial time-sensitive delays (the other diagnoses were pneumonia and aseptic meningitis). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians assessing patients who had been treated with ondansetron as supportive care for vomiting at an earlier visit to the pediatric emergency department should consider alternative diagnoses despite initial clinical improvement. No definitive risk factor for readmission was identified, but a high level of alertness to a possible meningeal or acute abdominal source is imperative.

Impact of Maternal Anxiety on Human Milk Macronutrients Content: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objective: The impact of maternal anxiety on the macronutrients content of human milk (HM) is unknown. We hypothesized that maternal stress generated by her infant's hospitalization will affect the mother's breast milk's macronutrients content. Materials and Methods: HM samples (2-3 mL) were collected from 21 mothers whose infants were hospitalized for 2-3 days between August 2016 and November 2017 due to neonatal fever. Samples were provided at three time points: first day of admission, second day of admission, and 1 week after discharge. The maternal anxiety level was measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Milk analyses for macronutrients were performed by infrared transmission spectroscopy. Results: Fat and energy contents of HM on day 7 were significantly higher compared with the day of admission (p = 0.019 and p = 0.022, respectively), whereas they were similar to values on day 2. The maternal anxiety level (STAI) at the time of infant admission was significantly higher than at 1 week after discharge (p < 0.001). There was no significant correlation between the changes in fat content and changes in the STAI score between admission and 1 week after discharge. Conclusion: Short infant hospitalization is associated with a significant rise in maternal stress; however, macronutrients content of HM remained unaffected.