Utility of neurocognitive testing of mild traumatic brain injury in children treated and released from the emergency department.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To assess feasibility and utility of neurocognitive testing of children evaluated and discharged from the ED with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). METHODS: Paediatric blunt trauma patients (aged 11-18 years) evaluated in the ED for MTBI and control patients with isolated lower extremity injury were prospectively enrolled. All patients were administered a validated neurocognitive test (ImPACT(©)). Wilcoxon sign rank tests were used to compare reported symptoms and neurocognitive performance between subjects and controls, as well as to matched normative data. RESULTS: Thirty-nine subjects and 46 controls were enrolled. The MTBI patients had a mean age of 13.9 years (53.8% male). An abnormal symptom score was reported in 89.7% of MTBI subjects (mean score = 29.4, normal ≤ 8), differing significantly (p < 0.05) from controls, in whom 39.1% demonstrated an abnormal score (mean score = 8.7). In all neurocognitive test domains, visual motor speed and reaction time, MTBI patients demonstrated lower scores than normative data (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MTBI were more likely than control subjects to have scores on any or all neurocognitive domains below the 25th percentile and 10th percentile. In the ED setting, acute neurocognitive testing of MTBI in children is feasible. This highlights the importance of structured follow-up for this treated and released population.

Risk factors associated with laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infections in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Bloodstream infections (BSI) remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). At the time of evaluation for suspected BSI, presenting signs may be nonspecific. We sought to determine the clinical signs and risk factors associated with laboratory-confirmed BSI among infants evaluated for late-onset sepsis in a tertiary NICU. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included infants >3 days of age admitted to a level 4 NICU from July 2006 to October 2009 for whom a blood culture was drawn for suspected sepsis. Clinicians documented presenting signs at the time of culture. Laboratory-confirmed BSI was defined as per the National Healthcare Safety Network. Multivariate analyses were performed using a logistic regression random effects model. RESULTS: Six-hundred and eighty eligible episodes of suspected BSI were recorded in 409 infants. Enteral contrast within the preceding 48 hours was the most significant risk factor for laboratory-confirmed BSI [Odds Ratio: 9.58 (95% confidence interval: 2.03-45.19)] followed by presence of a central venous catheter. Apnea and hypotension were the most strongly associated presenting signs. CONCLUSION: Among infants evaluated in a tertiary NICU, recent exposure to enteral contrast was associated with increased odds of developing BSI. Apnea and hypotension were the most strongly associated clinical signs of infection.