Implementation of a "hypoglycemia kit" in a pediatric emergency room: A retrospective study during 2011-2019.

INTRODUCTION: Hypoglycemia is a common symptom in pediatrics that can lead to neurological sequelae. The etiologies are mostly benign, but hypoglycemia can be a symptom of severe underlying disease. To streamline the etiological investigations, a "hypoglycemia kit," containing supplies needed to perform specific analyses quickly, was made available in the pediatric emergency department of the Rouen University Hospital in 2011. Since its introduction, this kit has been used to explore all cases of hypoglycemia regardless of the context. However, although very useful, these analyses are expensive. The objective of our study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of this kit and to refine its indications if necessary. METHODS: This was a non-interventional and retrospective single-center study. Digital records of patients for whom a hypoglycemia kit was used from September 2011 to August 2019 at the pediatric emergency department of Rouen University Hospital were used to retrieve clinical characteristics, laboratory results, and the causes of hypoglycemia. RESULTS: The study included 82 patients. The etiologic investigation concluded that 74 patients had functional hypoglycemia, and eight cases were attributed to other etiologies. In two cases, the kit led to a diagnosis, i.e., 2.4 % efficiency. A history of congenital malformations or previous hypoglycemia was significantly associated with severe etiologies. However, there was no significant association between hypoglycemia severity, age, sex, and these etiologies. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals that the cost-effectiveness of the hypoglycemia kit is low in pediatric emergencies (2.4 %) at Rouen University Hospital, where functional hypoglycemia remains the leading cause of hypoglycemia. However, our results allow us to suggest a decision tree for refining the usability of this kit, which would considerably increase its efficiency.

Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 testing in children during a low prevalence period (VIGIL study 1).

OBJECTIVES: SARS-CoV-2 induces a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, which overlap with other viral infections very common in children. We aimed to describe the percentage of positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests in symptomatic and asymptomatic ambulatory children and to determine the predictive factors for positivity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From June 1 to July 31, 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional prospective, multicenter study (13 hospital emergency units and 59 ambulatory pediatricians) throughout France. Children under 15 years of age with a prescription of nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test were enrolled. RESULTS: Among the 1,553 RT-PCR tests, 22 were positive (1.4%; 95%CI [0.9; 2.1]). In both univariate and multivariate analyses, the predictive factors for positivity were age below 2 years (OR: 4.5 [1.6; 12.7]) and history of contact (OR: 12.3 [4.6; 32.8]). CONCLUSIONS: In an epidemic stage with low SARS-CoV-2 circulation, sampling of children with nonspecific symptoms and without known contact could be questioned.