PEM Source

Your source for all things Pediatric Emergency Medicine

All posts with tag: "neonatal"

PEM Questions

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You are seeing a well-appearing 20 day old infant brought in for passing 4 stools instead of 6 today. The baby is full term, eating well, and there were no significant birth complications or maternal infections. Vital signs are rectal temperature 38.0 C, HR 140, RR 36, O2 sat 99% on room air. Physical exam is unremarkable except the right tympanic membrane is redder than the left. 

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A seven day old neonate is brought in for a fever of 38.5 and lethargy. The baby had a home birth, and the parents have chosen a “lotus birth,” or umbilical nonseverance. The placenta remains attached to the newborn (carried around with the baby, often in a small bag), until it separates on its own, typically in 5-15 days. 

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You are seeing a 10 day old ex-full term infant with bilateral watery mucoid eye discharge, mild eyelid edema, and papillary conjunctivitis. You suspect chlamydial conjunctivitis. What is the best management?

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A 16 year old girl arrives to the ED by ambulance and promptly delivers a 34 weeks by dates neonate. The infant is unresponsive, apneic, and you cannot palpate a pulse. After initial steps of drying, warming, and stimulating, the baby is still apneic with a heart rate < 100. You initiate positive pressure ventilation for 15 seconds but still do not hear the heart rate rising. Which of the following is not a part of the MR SOPA ventilation corrective steps recommended to try next?

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Which child does not meet the criteria for a low-risk BRUE? (Assume for all patients the events are now resolved and resolved immediately after the period of the event, there is no significant PMH, this is the first and only event, the child appears well in the ED)

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(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) You are seeing a 4 week old infant with non-bilious forceful vomiting x 3 days. [yop_poll id="176"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) You are seeing a 5 day old infant born term without complications brought to the ED because the parent noted a streak of bright red blood in the diaper. The baby is formula feeding well, not lethargic, has no fever, and has had a few non-bilious spit-up episodes. Physical exam shows mild abdominal distension; no anal fissure seen. [yop_poll id="175"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) You are seeing a 10 day old infant born via midwife-assisted water birth at home, brought in for lethargy and vomiting. Physical exam is significant for lethargy, jaundice, and fever to 38.5. He is exclusively breastfeeding. Labs include pH 7.34, ammonia 80, point of care glucose 80, urine trace ketones. [yop_poll id="172"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) A full term infant with no birth complications and no known risk factors for hyperbilirubinemia complications, discharged early at 36 hours of life, presents to the ED on day of life #4 with jaundice that just started on the day of presentation. Serum bilirubin is 15, all unconjugated. The baby is exclusively breastfed and having 4 wet diapers per day. [yop_poll id="110"]  
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(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) You are seeing a 10 month old with symptoms consistent with varicella. The infant is well-appearing, has no complications, and is 3 days into her illness. Her mother is pregnant. [yop_poll id="102"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) You are seeing a 4 week old brought in for vomiting with every feed. The vomitus is non-bilious, non-projectile, and non-bloody. The baby is making 5 wet diapers per day and weighs 10 lbs, and has gained 30 gm per day since regaining birth weight at 10 days of age. The baby is formula feeding, taking 5 ounces every 2-3 hours. [yop_poll id="87"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) A 17 year old G1P0 girl at 38 weeks gestation presents in active labor, crowning. OB has been called but is responding from home and won’t be there for 20 minutes. The head delivers, but the baby then has the “turtle sign” with fetal head retracting against the perineum. [yop_poll id="72"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) An 8 day old male is brought in with bilateral breast enlargement. They seem slightly tender, but there is no redness, fluctuance, or fever. The parents have noted discharge of a milky substance. [yop_poll id="29"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) A 6 week old ex-30 4/7 weeks twin A male infant was seen at an outside clinic because his parents felt that his heart was beating faster than his twin sibling’s and was found to have a hemoglobin of 7.9 g/dL. The clinic referred him in to the ED for blood transfusion and hematology consultation. The heart rate is 165 bpm on the monitor, blood pressure is 74/40, cap refill is < 2 seconds, and color is pink. The remainder of his CBC is normal, and the patient is afebrile, feeding and growing well, and asymptomatic except for his heart rate. Reticulocyte count is 4.77%. [yop_poll id="20"]
A 36-week infant is born precipitously NSVD to a 17yo G2P1 mother in the ED after the mother presented with the chief complaint of intermittent abdominal pain. Apgars are 8 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes, with -1 for color at both times and -1 for reflex irritability at 1 minute. The O2 sat in the left upper extremity is 82% at 5 minutes. The baby is crying intermittently, is not pale or plethoric, and is in no respiratory distress. Lung sounds are equal and clear bilaterally, and cardiac exam is normal. The next best intervention is: A. Intubate and mechanically ventilate B. Suction and apply 100% O2 C. Suction and apply nasal canula O2 at 5 L/min D. Transilluminate the chest to r/o pneumothorax E. Continue to observe the infant Check back in a few days for my answer and others' comments Also, if you're interested in the Peds ID Question of the Week, you can find it here
A 2 month old ex-30 week premie just discharged from the NICU comes in with respiratory distress and hypoxia. You determine that the patient needs to be intubated. The baby’s weight at discharge was 2.5 kg. What size ETT should you use? A. 2.5 uncuffed B. 3.0 uncuffed C. 3.0 cuffed D. 3.5 uncuffed E. 3.5 cuffed Check back in a few days for my answer and others' comments Also, if you're interested in the Peds ID question of the week, go here

Tips and Tricks

You've probably heard... AAP Subcommittee on Febrile Infants came out with new guidelines. The algorithms have been posted on PEMsource algorithms page, and the fever table updated to reflect them.

Also, the CDC came out with new guidelines regarding STI treatment. The summary wall poster can be found on the PEMsource On Shift tab. Some highlights: higher dose of ceftriaxone recommended for uncomplicated gonococcal infections, doxycycline only is 1st line for chlamydial infection (azithromycin no longer 1st line), and sex-specific dosing for trichomoniasis treatment. Also recommended IV regimen to treat PID is ceftriaxone + doxycycline + metronidazole; clindamycin & gentamicin now an alternate regimen.

You're seeing a 5 day old with a fever of 39. Attempts to get IV access have been unsuccessful. The child is alert and not toxic appearing, but you'd like to get empiric antibiotics started within the first hour of evaluation. What are your options other than drilling with an IO or embarking on a potentially long sweaty frustrating attempt at a central line in a neonate? An ultrasound-guided peripheral line is one possibility if you have the skills. Another vascular access method to keep in mind is the umbilical venous line - the umbilical vein can stay patent up to 7-10 days of life! Soak the dry cord in saline soaked gauze to soften it, use a scalpel to cut straight across at 1-2cm from the base, look for the single large vein, insert a pre-flushed catheter with gentle pressure into the vein while pulling back on a syringe until you see a flash of blood. For more info: https://blogs.brown.edu/emergency-medicine-residency/emergent-umbilical-venous-catheter-uvc-placement/ The "Fast-cath" technique advocates using a 14 gauge angiocath http://www.emsworld.com/article/10852257/paramedic-umbilical-vein-catheterization-for-newborns Find resources for born out of asepsis babies on our algorithms page, including how to make umbilical venous catheter mini kits to keep in your ED. http://pemsource.org/algorithms/boa-newly-born/

Controversies

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A full term infant born out of asepsis (BOA) at home is brought in by ambulance to your PED. No neonatologist or pediatrician is in house. The baby's venous blood gas shows a pH of 6.9, PCO2 80. The baby has inadequate respirations. Which do you decide to do?

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(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) Note: conundrums are not meant to have a “right” answer – they are to see how most people are practicing. Would love your comments also regarding your thought processes and the evidence behind your decisions. We can learn from each other! [poll id="48"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) Note: conundrums are not meant to have a “right” answer – they are to see how most people are practicing. Would love your comments also regarding your thought processes and the evidence behind your decisions. We can learn from each other! Bilimeters are devices that measure bilirubin transcutaneously (ie without drawing blood). They work by directing light into the neonate's skin and then measuring the intensity of specific wavelengths that return, and using this information to calculate bilirubin level. [poll id="40"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) Note: conundrums are not meant to have a “right” answer – they are to see how most people are practicing. Would love your comments also regarding your thought processes and the evidence behind your decisions. We can learn from each other! You are seeing a 29 day old afebrile former 35 weeker brought in by ambulance. The patient was given a few sips of "gripe water" for runny nose, appeared to choke and gasp for air, turned blue briefly, then recovered. The entire episode was about a minute. There was no tone change. The baby has no birth complications. The baby's vital signs and physical exam are normal in the ED, pulse ox is 100% on room air, RSV testing is negative. What would be your management? [poll id="33"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) Note: conundrums are not meant to have a “right” answer – they are to see how most people are practicing. Would love your comments also regarding your thought processes and the evidence behind your decisions. We can learn from each other! [poll id="24"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) Note: conundrums are not meant to have a “right” answer – they are to see how most people are practicing. Would love your comments also regarding your thought processes and the evidence behind your decisions. We can learn from each other! Got this one from a recent EM physician facebook group post. You see a mother with symptoms of influenza. Her 3 day old asymptomatic full-term infant is tested and is POC influenza+. There is good follow-up and the patient is healthy, afebrile, feeding well, etc. [poll id="22"]
(Click the link to comment and to vote - voting not working through email, sorry!) Note: conundrums are not meant to have a “right” answer – they are to see how most people are practicing. Would love your comments also regarding your thought processes and the evidence behind your decisions. We can learn from each other! You are seeing a 10 week old infant with a 38 degree fever of 6 hours duration. He has mild rhinorrhea as does Dad. He is otherwise well and feeding well. Point of care RSV and influenza are negative, and urine shows no pyuria or bacteriuria. Review of the chart shows mom was GBS+ and was treated with intrapartum penicillin as recommended. Baby was observed for 2 days in the nursery but not treated with antibiotics. [poll id="21"]
You are seeing a 6 week old ex-full term infant who is breastfeeding exclusively, having 6 wet diapers per day, 4 or more soft seedy stools per day, growing well, and no fever. Baby has been jaundiced since 1st week of life, and while it is not worse, parents come in because it is prolonged. Jaundice is to the level of the chest, and transcutaneous bili is 10. [poll id="12"]
It's RSV season and you're seeing a 30 day old ex-39 week infant with a runny nose. The resident has ordered a POC RSV, which is positive. The baby is afebrile, feeding well, and nontoxic. Do you admit the infant just for being RSV positive due to the risk of apnea in this age group? [poll id="11"]
3 week old infant is brought in with fever of 38.5. The baby is well appearing and does not have any high risk factors in the birth history. You plan to get urine, blood, and CSF cultures and give empiric IV antibiotics. [poll id="8"]

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