Hemoperitoneum among Pediatric Abdominal Trauma Patients Visiting in Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Pediatric abdominal trauma presents a major challenge for first-line responders in the Emergency Department for assessment and management. The Focused assessment sonography for trauma is a readily available, easy-to-use, and affordable tool for detecting hemoperitoneum during the initial assessment of trauma in the Emergency Department for adult traumatic patients. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of hemoperitoneum among pediatric abdominal trauma patients visiting the Emergency Department of tertiary care centre through Focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination technique. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Emergency Department of a tertiary care hospital from 7 April 2019 to 7 April 2020. Among 413 pediatric trauma patients, 93 children (1 to 17 years) admitted to the Emergency Department who underwent focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination were included in the study. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Approval number: 111/19). Convenience sampling was used. Point estimate and 90% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 93 children receiving focused assessment with sonography for trauma imaging in the Emergency Department with a history of blunt abdominal trauma, the prevalence of hemoperitoneum was 18 (19.34%) (12.61-26.09, 90% Confidence Interval). Conclusions: The prevalence of hemoperitoneum was similar to other studies conducted in a similar setting. Keywords: blunt injuries; emergency medicine; focused assessment with sonography for trauma.

Road Traffic Accident among Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Road traffic accidents are a public health problem and have emerged as the leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Head is the most commonly affected site of road traffic accidents. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of road traffic accidents among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Emergency Department from 12 January 2022 to 14 June 2022. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: COMSTH-IRC/2021-171). Data was collected using a self-structure questionnaire and from emergency tickets. A convenience sampling method was used. Point prevalence and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 7654 patients, the prevalence of road traffic accidents was found to be 734 (9.58%) (8.49-10.66, 95% Confidence Interval). Most of the accidents took place on Friday 139 (18.94%). The majority of them were soft tissue injuries 279 (38.01%). Conclusions: The prevalence of road traffic accidents was found to be higher compared to similar studies done in similar settings. Accident preventive strategies should be focused on and implemented by all the stakeholders. Keywords: emergencies; mortality; soft tissue injury; traffic accidents.

Impact of implementation of the national institute for health and clinical excellence (NICE) head injury guideline in a tertiary care center emergency department: A pre and post-intervention study.

INTRODUCTION: Head injury, a common presentation to the emergency department (ED), is a substantial problem in developing countries like Nepal. The current national institute for health and clinical excellence (NICE) guideline revised in January 2014 focuses on effective clinical assessment and early management of head injuries according to their severity in all age groups. This study assessed the impact of implementing this guideline on the proportions of computed tomography (CT) head scans, guideline adherence, and confidence level of the attending physicians. METHODS: We consecutively recruited 139 traumatic head injury (THI) patients in this prospective pre-post interventional study conducted in the ED of a tertiary care center. We implemented the NICE guideline into routine practice using multimodal intervention through physicians' education sessions, information sheets and guideline-dissemination. The pre and post-implementation CT head scan rates were compared. The post-implementation guideline adherence was assessed. Online Google form-questionnaires including 12 validated case scenarios were distributed to the attending physicians at the end of both phases to assess their confidence levels. RESULTS: The implementation resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of CT head scan rates from 92.0% to 70.0% (p-value = 0.005). Following educational interventions, improved guideline adherence of 20.3 percentage points (p-value = 0.001) was observed. Nine ED attending physicians were enrolled in the study who showed statistically significant improvement in their confidence level following the intervention. The NICE guideline showed a sensitivity and specificity of 93.6% and 76.4% with 82.6% accuracy compared to that of clinical judgment (100%, 34.6%, and 58.1% respectively) in detecting intracranial lesions. CONCLUSION: The implementation was successful in satisfying the aim of the NICE guideline by decreasing the proportion of CT head scans, improving guideline adherence and increasing the confidence of the attending physicians.

Tubercular Pericardial Effusion Presenting as Cardiac Tamponade.

Pericardial effusion is an uncommon extra-pulmonary manifestation of tuberculosis, tamponade being even rarer. Here, a 14-year female presented with cough, chest pain and fever. She had raised jugular venous pressure, hypotension, and muffled heart sound, suggestive of cardiac tamponade, confirmed by echocardiogram. She underwent pericardiocentesis with continuous pericardial fluid drainage. Her jugular venous pressure normalized after the aspiration. The high adenosine deaminase level in pericardial fluid analysis was suggestive of tuberculosis for which she was treated with antitubercular therapy and steroid. This case highlights the importance of adenosine deaminase for diagnosing the etiology of a rare presentation. Keywords: Adenosine deaminase; echocardiography; pericardial effusion; tamponade; tuberculosis.

Diagnostic performance of the extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (EFAST) patients in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Thoracoabdominal trauma presents a diagnostic challenge for the emergency physician. The introduction of bedside ultrasonography (USG) provides a screening tool to detect hemoperitoneum, hemothorax, pneumothorax and pericardial effusion in torso injuries. AIM: To evaluate the accuracy of extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (EFAST) for chest and abdominal injuries performed by first responders in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. METHODS: This was a prospective study including all trauma patients who obtained either an Injury Severity Score ≥15 or direct trauma to the trunk in 1 year period in the emergency department (ED) of Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital. The results of the EFAST were then compared with contrast-enhanced CT (CECT), radiology ultrasound (USG)/chest X-ray, or intraoperative findings when the EFAST was positive. The negative EFAST cases were observed for a minimum of 4 hours in the ED. Descriptive statistics and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were calculated. RESULTS: Out of 267 cases, 261 patients underwent an EFAST examination. The sensitivity and specificity were 94.8% and 99.5%, respectively. The negative predictive value was 98.53% whereas the positive predictive value was 98.21%. The overall accuracy was 99.4%. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that EFAST examination performed by first-line healthcare providers is a useful method for assessment of thoracic and abdominal injuries. EFAST was found to have a high specificity (99.5%) and positive predictive value (98.21%) which indicates that it is an effective technique for detecting intra-abdominal or thoracic injuries. However, the effectiveness of EFAST is limited by its being operator dependent, and thereby human error. For negative EFAST cases, we recommend a monitoring period of at least 4 hours, serial fast scan, or further investigation through other methods such as a CECT. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I.

Evaluation of Interdisciplinary Emergency Ultrasound Workshop for Primary Care Physicians in Nepal.

PURPOSE: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a quick bedside tool that has the potential to improve emergency care in resource-limited settings due to its relatively low cost and accessibility. Effort to disseminate the knowledge and skills about POCUS is inadequate in low and middle income countries like Nepal. We conducted a two-day interdisciplinary advanced emergency ultrasound workshop that targeted physicians working in emergency department and primary care, especially in rural Nepal. We explored the effectiveness of this training based on validated Kirkpatrick's 4 steps of evaluating training outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective quasi-experimental study with mixed research design. Multidisciplinary physicians working in emergency departments participated in the two-day workshop. We assessed and compared the pre- and post-workshop knowledge. We collected on-site and a follow-up feedback to explore pre- and post-workshop confidence level, perceived usefulness and clinical use of ultrasound using a 5-point Likert scale. The barriers to use POCUS were explored. RESULTS: A total of 50 physicians from different parts of Nepal participated in the workshop. The academic level of the participants, duration of their clinical experience and the previous use of POCUS did not have a significant difference in their pre- and posttest knowledge scores. The difference between the median (IQR) pre- and posttest scores [14 (12.75-17.75) and 24.5 (22.25-25.5), respectively] was statistically significant (p<0.001). Perceived confidence level and usefulness of the POCUS increased significantly in all of its domains (p<0.001). Self-reported increase in its clinical use was significant (p<0.001) for all fields. CONCLUSION: The participation in this emergency ultrasound workshop increased the knowledge of participants in POCUS. Their confidence, perceived usefulness and clinical use of POCUS improved significantly. Objective longitudinal follow-up of participants' skill and demonstration of increased clinical use of POCUS in emergency department influencing the clinical outcome would be the focus of future research.

Interdisciplinary in situ simulation-based medical education in the emergency department of a teaching hospital in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Simulation is well established as an effective strategy to train health care professionals in both technical and nontechnical skills and to prevent errors. Despite its known efficacy, adequate implementation is restricted due to the financial burden in resource-limited settings like ours. We therefore pursued to introduce cost-effective in situ simulation (ISS) in the emergency department (ED) to explore its impact on perception and learning experience among multidisciplinary health care professionals and to identify and remediate the latent safety threats (LST). METHODS: This is a prospective cross-sectional study with a mixed method research design, which was conducted in the ED of Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital. The pretest questionnaire was used to determine baseline knowledge, attitude, and confidence of the staff. The ISS with minimal added cost was conducted involving multidisciplinary healthcare workers. The LSTs were recorded and appropriate remediation was performed. Voluntary post simulation feedback was collected after the sessions. RESULTS: Overall 56 staff participated in at least one of the 35 simulation sessions, among which 45 (80%) responded to the questionnaires`. Twenty participants (45.5%) were reluctant to use the defibrillator. The self-reported confidence level of using defibrillator was low 29 (64.6%). The knowledge score ranged from 0 to 8 with the median score of 3 and a mean of 3.29 ± 1.8. There was no statistically significant difference in knowledge scores among participants of different occupational backgrounds, previous training, duration of work experience, and previous use of a defibrillator. A total of 366 LSTs {individual (43%), medication (17%), equipment (4%), and system/team (36%)} were identified (10.45 LST per ISS). The overall feedback from the participants was positive. Eighty percent of participants reported increased skills to use a defibrillator, and 82% reported increased confidence for managing such cases. They also agreed upon the need and continuity of such type of simulation in their workplace. CONCLUSIONS: The baseline knowledge score and the confidence level of the staff were low. Self-reported feedback suggested increased confidence level and teamwork skills after ISS. It promoted identification and remediation of latent safety threats. ISS serves as a cost-effective powerful educational model that can be implemented even in settings where finances and space are limited.

Profile of Published Cochrane Systematic Reviews in Child Health From Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

OBJECTIVE: Setting priorities in health research is a challenge at the global and national levels. Use of evidence-based approach is uncommon and needs to be promoted in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). We describe profile of Cochrane systematic reviews focussing on participation from LMIC. METHODS: We searched six Cochrane review groups producing reviews relevant to child health in low- and middle-income countries for published Cochrane systematic reviews from 1 March, 2009 till 18 March, 2015 in the Cochrane Library. RESULTS: A total of 669 Cochrane systematic reviews from six review groups were found. Low proportion of lead authors from low- and middle-income countries was found in 4 out of 6 review groups. About 50% of the reviews showed inconclusive evidence. 101/669 (15%) empty reviews were found needing more primary studies. CONCLUSION: The proportion of Cochrane authors from low- and middle-income countries is low. Capacity-building in systematic reviews and good quality primary research in these countries is warranted.

Prevalence of Dyspnea among Patients Attending the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Dyspnea is a common presenting complaint in the emergency department worldwide and a diagnostic challenge for emergency physicians. Our study aims to find the prevalence of dyspnea among patients attending emergency department in our hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency department of Dhulikhel hospital from May 2019 to July 2019 after ethical approval from the institutional review committee. Total 1200 samples were collected by consecutive sampling method. All patients were triaged in the emergency department as a part of regular protocol. The participants were included in the study after obtaining an informed consent from the patient or caretaker (if the patient were not able to provide it). Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. The statistical analysis was done using R version 3.5.3 (2019-03-11). RESULTS: The prevalence of dyspnea among patients attending emergency department of a tertiary care hospital was 107 (8.9%) (4.6%-13.2%) at 95% confidence interval. The patients triaged into red, orange and yellow categories were 14 (13.1%), 50 (46.7%) and 43 (40.2%) respectively. Median age was 64 years and 74 (69%) were ≥60 years. Sixty-seven (62.6%) were females and 40 (37.4%) were males. Forty-four (41.1%) arrived by ambulance. Most commonly associated symptoms were cough and fever 59 (51.1%) and 44 (41.1%) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of dyspnea among patients attending emergency department of our hospital is higher compared to that of other studies. This warrants structured and prompt management of dyspnea for quality improvement.

Chlorhexidine skin or cord care for prevention of mortality and infections in neonates.

BACKGROUND: Affordable, feasible and efficacious interventions to reduce neonatal infections and improve neonatal survival are needed. Chlorhexidine, a broad spectrum topical antiseptic agent, is active against aerobic and anaerobic organisms and reduces neonatal bacterial colonisation and may reduce infection. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of neonatal skin or cord care with chlorhexidine versus routine care or no treatment for prevention of infections in late preterm or term newborn infants in hospital and community settings. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, latest issue of The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (1966 to November 2013), EMBASE (1980 to November 2013), and CINAHL (1982 to November 2013). Ongoing trials were detected by searching the following databases: www.clinicaltrials.gov and www.controlled-trials.com. SELECTION CRITERIA: Cluster and individual patient randomised controlled trials of chlorhexidine use (for skin care, or cord care, or both) in term or late preterm neonates in hospital and community settings were eligible for inclusion. Three authors independently screened and selected studies for inclusion. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data, and assessed study risk of bias. The quality of evidence for each outcome was assessed using GRADE. We calculated pooled risk ratios (RRs) and risk differences (RDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and presented results using GRADE 'Summary of findings' tables. MAIN RESULTS: We included 12 trials in this review. There were seven hospital-based and five community-based studies. In four studies maternal vaginal wash with chlorhexidine was done in addition to neonatal skin and cord care. Newborn skin or cord cleansing with chlorhexidine compared to usual care in hospitalsLow-quality evidence from one trial showed that chlorhexidine cord cleansing compared to dry cord care may lead to no difference in neonatal mortality (RR 0.11, 95% CI 0.01 to 2.04). Moderate-quality evidence from two trials showed that chlorhexidine cord cleansing compared to dry cord care probably reduces the risk of omphalitis/infections (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.84).Low-quality evidence from two trials showed that chlorhexidine skin cleansing compared to dry cord care may lead to no difference in omphalitis/infections (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.39). None of the studies in this comparison reported effects of the treatments on neonatal mortality. Newborn skin or cord cleansing with chlorhexidine compared to usual care in the communityHigh-quality evidence from three trials showed that chlorhexidine cord cleansing compared to dry cord care reduces neonatal mortality (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.92) and omphalitis/infections (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.57).High-quality evidence from one trial showed no difference between chlorhexidine skin cleansing and usual skin care on neonatal mortality (RR 1.03, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.23). None of the studies in this comparison reported effects of the treatments on omphalitis/infections. Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to no intervention (sterile saline solution) in hospitalsModerate-quality evidence from one trial showed no difference between maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing and no intervention on neonatal mortality (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.42). High-quality evidence from two trials showed no difference between maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing and no intervention on the risk of infections (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.16).Findings from one trial showed that maternal vaginal cleansing in addition to total body cleansing results in increased risk of hypothermia (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.49). Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to no intervention (sterile saline solution) in the communityLow-quality evidence from one trial showed no difference between maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing and no intervention on neonatal mortality (RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.01 to 4.03). Moderate-quality evidence from one trial showed that maternal vaginal chlorhexidine in addition to total body cleansing compared to no intervention probably reduces the risk of neonatal infections (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.95). These studies did not report effect on omphalitis. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is some uncertainty as to the effect of chlorhexidine applied to the umbilical cords of newborns in hospital settings on neonatal mortality. The quality of evidence for the effects on infection are moderate for cord application and low for application to skin. There is high-quality evidence that chlorhexidine skin or cord care in the community setting results in a 50% reduction in the incidence of omphalitis and a 12% reduction in neonatal mortality. Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine compared to usual care probably leads to no difference in neonatal mortality in hospital settings. Maternal vaginal chlorhexidine compared to usual care results in no difference in the risk of infections in hospital settings. The uncertainty over the effect of maternal vaginal chlorhexidine on mortality outcomes reflects small sample sizes and low event rates in the community settings.