Assessing Dehydration Employing End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide in Children With Vomiting and Diarrhea.

OBJECTIVE: Serum bicarbonate reflects dehydration severity in children with gastroenteritis. Previous work in children receiving intravenous rehydration has correlated end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) with serum bicarbonate. We evaluated whether EtCO2 predicts weight change in children with vomiting and/or diarrhea. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted. Eligible children were 3 months to 10 years old and presented for emergency department (ED) care because of vomiting and/or diarrhea. End-tidal carbon dioxide measurements were performed after triage. The diagnostic standard was weight change determined from serial measurements after symptom resolution. A receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to identify a cut-point to predict 5% or more dehydration. RESULTS: In total, 195 children were enrolled. Among the 169 (87%) with EtCO2 measurements, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) was 30.4 (27.8 to 33.1). One hundred fifty-eight had repeat weights performed at home; the median (IQR) weight change from ED presentation to well weight was +0.06 (-0.14 to +0.30) or +0.72% (-1.2% to +2.1%). Sixteen percent (25/158) had 3% or more and 4% (6/158) had 5% or more weight gain (ie, percent dehydration). One hundred sixteen (60%) completed home follow-up and had acceptable EtCO2 recordings. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed an area under the curve of 0.34 (95% confidence interval, 0.06 to 0.62) for EtCO2 as a predictor of 5% or more dehydration. CONCLUSIONS: The limited accuracy of EtCO2 measurement to predict 5% or more dehydration precludes its use as a tool to assess dehydration severity in children. End-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring does not have the ability to identify those children with 5% or more dehydration in a cohort of children with vomiting and/or diarrhea presenting for ED care.

Prophylactic antipyretics for prevention of febrile seizures following vaccination.

Question Parents of a 12-month-old boy are bringing their son in to my family practice clinic for his well-baby visit. As the infant is due for his 12-month vaccine series, the parents are concerned after hearing about the association between certain vaccinations and an increased risk of febrile seizures, and are wondering if they should administer prophylactic antipyretics to decrease the risk of febrile seizure. What vaccinations are associated with increased risk of febrile seizure, and is there evidence supporting prophylactic administration of antipyretics to prevent febrile seizures? Answer Vaccinations associated with increased risk of febrile seizure include the following: the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine; the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine; the combined diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine; the whole-cell pertussis vaccine; the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; and concomitant administration of the trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine with either the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine. Despite being a higher-risk group, children receiving these vaccinations should not receive prophylactic antipyretics, as no statistically significant reduction in the rate of febrile seizures has been documented, and prophylactic antipyretic use potentially decreases the immune response to certain vaccines.

Surgery as a Recurrent Trigger for Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) in a Patient Cured of M7 Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

We report the case of a 10-year-old boy, 8 years post-M7 acute myeloid leukemia with a history of significant thrombocytopenia and bleeding, requiring treatment, after 2 surgical procedures performed under general anesthesia. In both instances, the thrombocytopenia and bleeding responded to intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. Between surgeries, the platelet counts were normal. Before a third surgical procedure, he was successfully pretreated with dexamethasone and experienced no bleeding or thrombocytopenia after the operation. This case highlights the potential utility of corticosteroid pretreatment in patients with a history of immune thrombocytopenia before surgical procedures under general anesthesia.

A Smartphone App to Reduce Burnout in the Emergency Department: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a significant concern among health care professionals, particularly those working in the emergency department (ED). Given the negative personal and professional consequences that burnout can have on all health care professionals, multidisciplinary solutions are needed to address burnout. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility and potential impact of resilience training delivered through a smartphone application on burnout among health care professionals working at a tertiary-care pediatric ED. METHODS: We conducted a single-center pilot randomized controlled study enrolling multidisciplinary health care professionals working in our ED. Participants assigned to the intervention group received self-driven access to a smartphone application that provided a structured resilience curriculum for a period of 3 months. The participants completed psychometric assessments both prior to and following the invention period. Changes in psychometric measures of the intervention group were then compared with a waitlist-control group. RESULTS: Following the intervention period, a total of 20 participants were included in the final analysis. The change in participant scores on psychometric measures prior to and following the intervention period was calculated. A statistically significant mean decrease in burnout measure (emotional exhaustion subscale of Maslach-Burnout Inventory mean score -5.88, p < .001) and increase in mindfulness measure (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale mean score 0.51, p < .001) was observed among the intervention group participants. CONCLUSIONS/APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: Our study suggests that a resilience training program delivered using a smartphone application can be an effective intervention in reducing burnout and increasing mindfulness skills. Our study also demonstrated the potential feasibility of a randomized controlled study of burnout within a multidisciplinary group of health care professionals.

Antipyrétiques en prophylaxie pour prévenir les convulsions fébriles après la vaccination.

Question Les parents d'un petit garçon de 12 mois accompagnent leur fils à ma pratique familiale pour sa visite de puériculture. Comme l'enfant est dû pour sa série vaccinale de 12 mois, les parents s'inquiètent parce qu'ils ont entendu parler d'un lien entre certains vaccins et un risque accru de convulsions fébriles, et ils se demandent s'ils devraient administrer un antipyrétique en prophylaxie pour réduire le risque. Quels vaccins sont liés à un risque accru de convulsions fébriles, et existe-t-il des données à l'appui des antipyrétiques pour prévenir les convulsions fébriles? Réponse Les vaccins liés à un risque accru de convulsions fébriles sont les suivants : vaccin contre la rougeole, les oreillons et la rubéole; vaccin contre la rougeole, les oreillons, la rubéole et la varicelle; combinaison du vaccin contre la diphtérie, le tétanos, la coqueluche acellulaire et la polio et du vaccin contre le virus Haemophilus influenzae de type B; vaccin contre la coqueluche à germes entiers; vaccin conjugué 7-valent contre le pneumocoque; et administration concomitante du vaccin antigrippal trivalent inactivé avec soit le vaccin conjugué 7-valent contre le pneumocoque, soit le vaccin contre la diphtérie, le tétanos et la coqueluche acellulaire. Malgré le fait qu'ils font partie d'un groupe à risque élevé, les enfants qui reçoivent ces vaccins ne doivent pas prendre d'antipyrétiques en prophylaxie, puisque aucune réduction significative du taux de convulsions fébriles n'a été rapportée, et que les antipyrétiques en prophylaxie réduisent potentiellement la réponse immunitaire à certains vaccins.