The Management of Children and Youth With Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies.

Mental and behavioral health (MBH) visits of children and youth to emergency departments are increasing in the United States. Reasons for these visits range from suicidal ideation, self-harm, and eating and substance use disorders to behavioral outbursts, aggression, and psychosis. Despite the increase in prevalence of these conditions, the capacity of the health care system to screen, diagnose, and manage these patients continues to decline. Several social determinants also contribute to great disparities in child and adolescent (youth) health, which affect MBH outcomes. In addition, resources and space for emergency physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and prehospital practitioners to manage these patients remain limited and inconsistent throughout the United States, as is financial compensation and payment for such services. This technical report discusses the role of physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, and provides guidance for the management of acute MBH emergencies in children and youth. Unintentional ingestions and substance use disorder are not within the scope of this report and are not specifically discussed.

The Management of Children and Youth With Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies.

Mental and behavioral health (MBH) emergencies in children and youth continue to increasingly affect not only the emergency department (ED), but the entire spectrum of emergency medical services for children, from prehospital services to the community. Inadequate community and institutional infrastructure to care for children and youth with MBH conditions makes the ED an essential part of the health care safety net for these patients. As a result, an increasing number of children and youth are referred to the ED for evaluation of a broad spectrum of MBH emergencies, from depression and suicidality to disruptive and aggressive behavior. However, challenges in providing optimal care to these patients include lack of personnel, capacity, and infrastructure; challenges with timely access to a mental health professional; the nature of a busy ED environment; and paucity of outpatient post-ED discharge resources. These factors contribute to prolonged ED stays and boarding, which negatively affect patient care and ED operations. Strategies to improve care for MBH emergencies, including systems-level coordination of care, are therefore essential. The goal of this policy statement and its companion technical report is to highlight strategies, resources, and recommendations for improving emergency care delivery for pediatric MBH.

The Management of Children and Youth With Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies.

Mental and behavioral health (MBH) emergencies in children and youth continue to increasingly affect not only the emergency department (ED), but the entire spectrum of emergency medical services for children, from prehospital services to the community. Inadequate community and institutional infrastructure to care for children and youth with MBH conditions makes the ED an essential part of the health care safety net for these patients. As a result, an increasing number of children and youth are referred to the ED for evaluation of a broad spectrum of MBH emergencies, from depression and suicidality to disruptive and aggressive behavior. However, challenges in providing optimal care to these patients include lack of personnel, capacity, and infrastructure, challenges with timely access to a mental health professional, the nature of a busy ED environment, and paucity of outpatient post-ED discharge resources. These factors contribute to prolonged ED stays and boarding, which negatively affects patient care and ED operations. Strategies to improve care for MBH emergencies, including systems level coordination of care, is therefore essential. The goal of this policy statement and its companion technical report is to highlight strategies, resources, and recommendations for improving emergency care delivery for pediatric MBH.

The Management of Children and Youth With Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies.

Mental and behavioral health (MBH) emergencies in children and youth continue to increasingly affect not only the emergency department (ED), but the entire spectrum of emergency medical services for children, from prehospital services to the community. Inadequate community and institutional infrastructure to care for children and youth with MBH conditions makes the ED an essential part of the health care safety net for these patients. As a result, an increasing number of children and youth are referred to the ED for evaluation of a broad spectrum of MBH emergencies, from depression and suicidality to disruptive and aggressive behavior. However, challenges in providing optimal care to these patients include lack of personnel, capacity, and infrastructure, challenges with timely access to a mental health professional, the nature of a busy ED environment, and paucity of outpatient post-ED discharge resources. These factors contribute to prolonged ED stays and boarding, which negatively affects patient care and ED operations. Strategies to improve care for MBH emergencies, including systems level coordination of care, is therefore essential. The goal of this policy statement and its companion technical report is to highlight strategies, resources, and recommendations for improving emergency care delivery for pediatric MBH.

The role of telehealth in pediatric emergency care.

In 2006, the Institute of Medicine published a report titled "Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains," in which it described pediatric emergency care as uneven at best. Since then, telehealth has emerged as one of the great equalizers in care of children, particularly for those in rural and underresourced communities. Clinicians in these settings may lack pediatric-specific specialization or experience in caring for critically ill or injured children. Telehealth consultation can provide timely and safe management for many medical problems in children and can prevent many unnecessary and often long transport to a pediatric center while avoiding delays in care, especially for time-sensitive and acute interventions. Telehealth is an important component of pediatric readiness of hospitals and is a valuable tool in facilitating health care access in low resourced and critical access areas. This paper provides an overview of meaningful applications of telehealth programs in pediatric emergency medicine, discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these services, and highlights challenges in setting up, adopting, and maintaining telehealth services.

Advance Care Planning Among Patients With Advanced Illness Presenting to the Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: Advance care planning (ACP) benefits emergency department (ED) patients with advanced illness. Although Medicare implemented physician reimbursement for ACP discussions in 2016, early studies found limited uptake. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a pilot study to assess ACP documentation and billing to inform the development of ED-based interventions to increase ACP. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review to quantify the proportion of ED patients with advanced illness with Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) or coding of ACP discussion in the medical record. We surveyed a subset of patients via phone to evaluate ACP participation. RESULTS: Of 186 patients included in the chart review, 68 (37%) had a POLST and none had ACP discussions billed. Of 50 patients surveyed, 18 (36%) recalled prior ACP discussions. CONCLUSIONS: Given the low uptake of ACP discussions in ED patients with advanced illness, the ED may be an underused setting for interventions to increase ACP discussions and documentation.

Do Parents of Discharged Pediatric Emergency Department Patients Read Discharge Instructions?

OBJECTIVES: The percentage of discharged emergency department (ED) patients who read discharge instructions (DCIs) is unknown. In this study of parents of pediatric ED patients, we attempt to quantify the DCI readership rate and identify variables associated with readership. We hypothesized that few families would read their child's DCIs. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized study of parents of pediatric patients who were discharged home from the ED. We randomized participants to receive a study invitation as either the second or the second to last page of their DCIs. We incentivized study participation with a $10 gift card and then used the invitation response rate as a proxy for DCI readership. We utilized logistic regression to identify predictor variables showing significant association with readership. RESULTS: One thousand patients were randomized; 963 were included in the final analysis. Eighty-four subjects, 8.8% (95% confidence interval, 7.0%-10.7%), responded to investigators. In the final regression model, private insurance (adjusted odds ratio, 1.76; P = 0.036), placement of the study invitation early within DCIs (adjusted odds ratio, 1.93; P = 0.011), and laceration diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio, 2.97; P = 0.012) predicted readership, whereas parents of Hispanic children were less likely to respond, even after adjustment for language spoken (adjusted odds ratio, 0.57; P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: A minority of parents of patients discharged from the pediatric ED appear to read through their child's DCIs, with Hispanic families and those without private insurance least likely to read. Future research can explore how best to reach these particularly vulnerable families.

A Research Agenda to Advance Pediatric Emergency Care Through Enhanced Collaboration Across Emergency Departments.

In 2018, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and the journal Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM) convened a consensus conference entitled, "Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference: Aligning the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Research Agenda to Reduce Health Outcome Gaps." This article is the product of the breakout session, "Emergency Department Collaboration-Pediatric Emergency Medicine in Non-Children's Hospital"). This subcommittee consisting of emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, and quality improvement (QI) experts, as well as a patient advocate, identified main outcome gaps in the care of children in the emergency departments (EDs) in the following areas: variations in pediatric care and outcomes, pediatric readiness, and gaps in knowledge translation. The goal for this session was to create a research agenda that facilitates collaboration and partnering of diverse stakeholders to develop a system of care across all ED settings with the aim of improving quality and increasing safe medical care for children. The following recommended research strategies emerged: explore the use of technology as well as collaborative networks for education, research, and advocacy to develop and implement patient care guidelines, pediatric knowledge generation and dissemination, and pediatric QI and prepare all EDs to care for the acutely ill and injured pediatric patients. In conclusion, collaboration between general EDs and academic pediatric centers on research, dissemination, and implementation of evidence into clinical practice is a solution to improving the quality of pediatric care across the continuum.

Not by the Red on My Chinny Chin Chin: A Case of Mandibular Osteomyelitis in a 5-Year-Old Girl.

BACKGROUND: Osteomyelitis is not an uncommon emergency department diagnosis in pediatric patients, and most cases are in the lower extremities. Children can present with acute, subacute, or chronic erythema, pain, swelling, or decreased use of the extremity; some patients will also have fever or elevated serum inflammatory markers, or both. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a healthy 5-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with 3 weeks of painless chin swelling and 2 days of erythema and pain. While laboratory testing was normal, magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated osteomyelitis of the mandible, later confirmed by biopsy. After 4 weeks of intravenous antibiotics and an additional 2 weeks of oral antibiotics, the patient recovered completely without any residual findings. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: This case demonstrates that osteomyelitis can develop in previously healthy, fully vaccinated children with competent immune systems. Systemic findings (ie, fever and elevated serum inflammatory markers) may be absent, and osteomyelitis should always be considered in the differential diagnosis for a child presenting with subacute to chronic cutaneous findings without other clear explanation.

A Case of Unrecognized Intrathoracic Placement of a Subclavian Central Venous Catheter in a Patient with Large Traumatic Hemothorax.

Traditional recommendations suggest placement of a subclavian central venous catheter (CVC) ipsilateral to a known pneumothorax to minimize risk of bilateral pneumothorax. We present the case of a 65-year-old male with a right hemopneumothorax who was found to have intrathoracic placement of his right subclavian CVC at thoracotomy despite successful aspiration of blood and transduction of central venous pressure (CVP). We thus recommend extreme caution with the interpretation of CVC placement by blood aspiration and CVP measurement alone in patients with large volume ipsilateral hemothorax.

Computed tomographic angiography as the primary diagnostic modality in penetrating lower extremity vascular injuries: a level I trauma experience.

BACKGROUND: Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) has been established as a valid modality for the assessment of extremity vascular injury. Over the last several years at our institution, CTA has evolved as the primary diagnostic modality for penetrating extremity injuries, largely replacing diagnostic angiography. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes with this imaging modality at a high-volume Level I trauma center. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of all patients presenting with penetrating lower extremity trauma between 2008 and 2009. Patient factors collected included demographics, mechanism of injury, injury severity, presence of hard signs of vascular injury, radiologic studies, operative intervention, and outcomes. RESULTS: There were 132 patients with penetrating lower extremity trauma. The average age of the patients was 25 years, with an average injury severity score of 10. The injuries were primarily gunshot wounds (89%). In all, 59 patients (45%) underwent CTA. CTA of the extremity was performed as a continuation of a computed tomography of the chest/abdomen/pelvis in 28 (47%) versus a targeted CTA of the extremity in 31 (53%) patients. In all, 34 (58%) CTAs were negative for vascular injury, 19 (32%) were positive, and six (10%) were indeterminate. Of the 34 patients with a normal CTA, none went to the operating room for repair of a major vascular injury; similarly, of the 19 patients with an abnormal CTA, there were no negative operative explorations. A total of 28 (21%) patients required operative intervention for the injured extremity; procedures performed included fasciotomy, venous and arterial ligation, primary repair, and interposition grafting. There were no amputations and no mortalities. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the use of CTA as the primary imaging modality in evaluating penetrating lower extremity injury. Because of its proven accuracy in detecting major vascular injury, cost-effectiveness, and ease and rapidity of administration and interpretation, CTA should supplant conventional angiography in initial evaluation of the patient presenting with penetrating trauma.

Use of clinical triage criteria decreases monitored care bed utilization in gallstone pancreatitis.

Admission indicators for monitored care in gallstone pancreatitis have been lacking. Recently, we established three criteria for admission to intensive care unit or step down versus ward beds: (1) concomitant cholangitis, (2) heart rate >110 beats/min, and (3) blood urea nitrogen >15 mg/dL. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these criteria would be effective in decreasing monitored care bed utilization without adversely affecting outcomes. A retrospective review of all patients with gallstone pancreatitis at a public teaching hospital was performed (2003-2009). A comparison was made of patients before (2003-2005, Period 1) and after (2006-2009, Period 2) establishment of monitored care triage criteria. Over the study period, there were 379 patients. The median Ranson score for both periods was 1. The median ages were 41 and 39, (P = 0.7). In Period 1, 28 per cent of patients were admitted to the intensive care unit/step down unit versus 12 per cent in Period 2. None of the patients required transfer from the ward to a monitored care setting in Period 2. There were no mortalities in either period. In conclusion, the presence of concomitant cholangitis, heart rate >110, and blood urea nitrogen >15 are useful and safe triage criteria for admission to a monitored care setting. Use of these criteria significantly decreased monitored care bed utilization and resulted in fewer mis-triages without adversely affecting patient outcomes.