Kelly Russell

Oral rehydration versus intravenous therapy for treating dehydration due to gastroenteritis in children: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

BackgroundDespite treatment recommendations from various organizations, oral rehydration therapy (ORT) continues to be underused, particularly by physicians in high-income countries. We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to compare ORT and intravenous therapy (IVT) for the treatment of dehydration secondary to acute gastroenteritis in children.MethodsRCTs were identified through MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, authors and references of included trials, pharmaceutical companies, and relevant organizations. Screening and inclusion were performed independently by two reviewers in order to identify randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing ORT and IVT in children with acute diarrhea and dehydration. Two reviewers independently assessed study quality using the Jadad scale and allocation concealment. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second. The primary outcome measure was failure of rehydration. We analyzed data using standard meta-analytic techniques.ResultsThe quality of the 14 included trials ranged from 0 to 3 (Jadad score); allocation concealment was unclear in all but one study. Using a random effects model, there was no significant difference in treatment failures (risk difference [RD] 3%; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0, 6). The Mantel-Haenzsel fixed effects model gave a significant difference between treatment groups (RD 4%; 95% CI: 2, 5) favoring IVT. Based on the four studies that reported deaths, there were six in the IVT groups and two in ORT. There were no significant differences in total fluid intake at six and 24 hours, weight gain, duration of diarrhea, or hypo/hypernatremia. Length of stay was significantly shorter for the ORT group (weighted mean difference [WMD] -1.2 days; 95% CI: -2.4,-0.02). Phlebitis occurred significantly more often with IVT (number needed to treat [NNT] 33; 95% CI: 25,100); paralytic ileus occurred more often with ORT (NNT 33; 95% CI: 20,100). These results may not be generalizable to children with persistent vomiting.ConclusionThere were no clinically important differences between ORT and IVT in terms of efficacy and safety. For every 25 children (95% CI: 20, 50) treated with ORT, one would fail and require IVT. The results support existing practice guidelines recommending ORT as the first course of treatment in appropriate children with dehydration secondary to gastroenteritis.

The evolution of a new publication type: Steps and challenges of producing overviews of reviews

BACKGROUND To date, the Cochrane Child Health Field has published 18 overviews of reviews in our journal, Evidence-based Child Health: A Cochrane Review Journal. In this article, we highlight some of the logistical and methodological challenges of producing such syntheses. As this is a new and evolving publication type, we hope that our experience will benefit others who engage in this process. Current Methods: We discuss the process we have developed to produce overviews of reviews relevant to our mandate, including identification of the research question, establishment of the author team, selection of outcomes and included SRs, and presentation of findings. Ongoing Development: We discuss the lessons we have learned, outstanding challenges for overview authors, and the limitations of overviews. CONCLUSIONS Overviews of reviews are only as good as the SRs and primary studies on which they are based; gaps or lack of currency in this evidence will weaken the overview of reviews. Future directions in this work must address questions of bias and loss of information. Methods for overviews of reviews targeted for specific groups, such as children, need more elaboration. Copyright

Tissue adhesives for traumatic lacerations: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the best available evidence for the effect of tissue adhesives (TAs) in managing traumatic lacerations in children and adults. METHODS A search was conducted using the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Medline, and EMBase for relevant studies. The authors also searched the citations of selected studies and contacted relevant authors and manufacturers. The search included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing a TA versus standard wound closure (sutures, staples, adhesive strips) (SWC) or two TAs for acute, linear, low-tension, traumatic lacerations in an emergency or primary care setting. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked for accuracy by a second reviewer. Two reviewers independently assessed masked copies for quality. Outcomes of cosmesis (subgroups of age, wound location, and need for deep sutures), pain, procedure time, ease of use, and complications were analyzed separately for two comparisons: 1). TA versus SWC; and 2). TA versus TA. RESULTS Eight studies compared a TA with SWC. No significant difference was found for cosmesis at any time point examined. Subgroup analysis was possible only for age; no significant difference was found. Pain scores [Parent Visual Analogue Scale weighted mean difference (VAS WMD) = -15.7 mm; 95% CI = -21.9 to -9.5] and procedure time (WMD = -5.7 minutes; 95% CI = -8.2 to -3.1) significantly favored TAs. Small, statistically significant risk differences were found for dehiscence [favoring SWC; number needed to harm (NNH) = 25; 95% CI = 14 to 100] and erythema (favoring TAs; NNH = 8; 95% CI = 4 to 100). Only one study compared two TAs (butylcyanoacrylate versus octylcyanoacrylate) for pediatric facial lacerations. No significant difference was found for cosmesis, pain, procedure time, or complications. CONCLUSIONS TAs are an acceptable alternative to SWC for simple traumatic lacerations. No difference in cosmesis was found between TAs and SWC, or between different TAs. Tissue adhesives offer the benefits of decreased procedure time and less pain, compared with SWC. A small increased rate of dehiscence with TAs must be considered when choosing the closure method (NNH = 25).

Psychiatric outcomes after pediatric sports-related concussion

OBJECT The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to examine the prevalence of emotional symptoms among children and adolescents with a sports-related concussion (SRC) who were referred to a multidisciplinary pediatric concussion program and (2) to examine the prevalence, clinical features, risk factors, and management of postinjury psychiatric outcomes among those in this clinical population. METHODS The authors conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients with SRC referred to a multidisciplinary pediatric concussion program between September 2013 and October 2014. Clinical assessments carried out by a single neurosurgeon included clinical history, physical examination, and Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) scoring. Postinjury psychiatric outcomes were defined as a subjective worsening of symptoms of a preinjury psychiatric disorder or new and isolated suicidal ideation or diagnosis of a novel psychiatric disorder (NPD). An NPD was defined as a newly diagnosed psychiatric disorder that occurred in a patient with or without a lifetime preinjury psychiatric disorder after a concussion. Clinical resources, therapeutic interventions, and clinical and return-to-play outcomes are summarized. RESULTS One hundred seventy-four patients (mean age 14.2 years, 61.5% male) were included in the study. At least 1 emotional symptom was reported in 49.4% of the patients, and the median emotional PCSS subscore was 4 (interquartile range 1-8) among those who reported at least 1 emotional symptom. Overall, 20 (11.5%) of the patients met the study criteria for a postinjury psychiatric outcome, including 14 patients with an NPD, 2 patients with isolated suicidal ideation, and 4 patients with worsening symptoms of a preinjury psychiatric disorder. Female sex, a higher initial PCSS score, a higher emotional PCSS subscore, presence of a preinjury psychiatric history, and presence of a family history of psychiatric illness were significantly associated with postinjury psychiatric outcomes. Interventions for patients with postinjury psychiatric outcomes included pharmacological therapy alone in 2 patients (10%), cognitive behavioral therapy alone in 4 (20%), multimodal therapy in 9 (45%), and no treatment in 5 (25%). Overall, 5 (25%) of the patients with postinjury psychiatric disorders were medically cleared to return to full sports participation, whereas 5 (25%) were lost to follow-up and 9 (45%) remained in treatment by the multidisciplinary concussion program at the end of the study period. One patient who was asymptomatic at the time of initial consultation committed suicide. CONCLUSIONS Emotional symptoms were commonly reported among pediatric patients with SRC referred to a multidisciplinary pediatric concussion program. In some cases, these symptoms contributed to the development of an NPD, isolated suicidal ideation, and worsening symptoms of a preexisting psychiatric disorder. Future research is needed to clarify the prevalence, pathophysiology, risk factors, and evidence-based management of postinjury psychiatric outcomes after pediatric SRC. Successful management of these patients requires prompt recognition and multidisciplinary care by experts with clinical training and experience in concussion and psychiatry.

Risk factors for methamphetamine use in youth: a systematic review

BackgroundMethamphetamine (MA) is a potent stimulant that is readily available. Its effects are similar to cocaine, but the drug has a profile associated with increased acute and chronic toxicities. The objective of this systematic review was to identify and synthesize literature on risk factors that are associated with MA use among youth.More than 40 electronic databases, websites, and key journals/meeting abstracts were searched. We included studies that compared children and adolescents (≤ 18 years) who used MA to those who did not. One reviewer extracted the data and a second checked for completeness and accuracy. For discrete risk factors, odds ratios (OR) were calculated and when appropriate, a pooled OR with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) was calculated. For continuous risk factors, mean difference and 95% CI were calculated and when appropriate, a weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% CI was calculated. Results were presented separately by comparison group: low-risk (no previous drug abuse) and high-risk children (reported previous drug abuse or were recruited from a juvenile detention center).ResultsTwelve studies were included. Among low-risk youth, factors associated with MA use were: history of heroin/opiate use (OR = 29.3; 95% CI: 9.8–87.8), family history of drug use (OR = 4.7; 95% CI: 2.8–7.9), risky sexual behavior (OR = 2.79; 95% CI: 2.25, 3.46) and some psychiatric disorders. History of alcohol use and smoking were also significantly associated with MA use. Among high-risk youth, factors associated with MA use were: family history of crime (OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.2–3.3), family history of drug use (OR = 4.7; 95% CI: 2.8–7.9), family history of alcohol abuse (OR = 3.2; 95% CI: 1.8–5.6), and psychiatric treatment (OR = 6.8; 95% CI: 3.6–12.9). Female sex was also significantly associated with MA use.ConclusionAmong low-risk youth, a history of engaging in a variety of risky behaviors was significantly associated with MA use. A history of a psychiatric disorder was a risk factor for MA for both low- and high-risk youth. Family environment was also associated with MA use. Many of the included studies were cross-sectional making it difficult to assess causation. Future research should utilize prospective study designs so that temporal relationships between risk factors and MA use can be established.

Vestibulo-ocular dysfunction in pediatric sports-related concussion

OBJECT The objective of this study was 2-fold: 1) to examine the prevalence of vestibulo-ocular dysfunction (VOD) among children and adolescents with acute sports-related concussion (SRC) and postconcussion syndrome (PCS) who were referred to a multidisciplinary pediatric concussion program; and 2) to determine if VOD is associated with the development of PCS in this cohort. METHODS The authors conducted a retrospective review of all patients with acute SRC (presenting 30 days or less postinjury) and PCS (3 or more symptoms for at least 1 month) referred to a multidisciplinary pediatric concussion program between September 2013 and July 2014. Initial assessment included clinical history, physical examination, and Post-Concussion Symptom Scale assessment. Patients were also assessed for VOD, which was defined as more than one subjective vestibular and oculomotor complaint (dizziness, blurred vision, and so on) and more than one objective physical examination finding (abnormal smooth pursuits, saccades, vestibulo-ocular reflex, and so on). This study was approved by the local institutional ethics review board. RESULTS A total of 101 patients (mean age 14.2 years, SD 2.3 years; 63 male and 38 female patients) participated, including 77 (76.2%) with acute SRC and 24 (23.8%) with PCS. Twenty-two of the 77 patients (28.6%) with acute SRC and 15 of the 24 (62.5%) with PCS met the clinical criteria for VOD. The median duration of symptoms was 40 days (interquartile range [IQR] 28.5-54 days) for patients with acute SRC who had VOD compared with 21 days (IQR 13-32 days) for those without VOD (p = 0.0001). There was a statistically significant increase in the adjusted odds of developing PCS among patients with acute SRC who had VOD compared with those without VOD (adjusted OR 4.10; 95% CI 1.04-16.16). CONCLUSIONS Evidence of VOD was detected in a significant proportion of children and adolescents with acute SRC and PCS who were referred to a multidisciplinary pediatric concussion program. This clinical feature was a significant risk factor for the subsequent development of PCS in this pediatric acute SRC cohort.

Helmet Use and Risk of Neck Injury in Skiers and Snowboarders

In a case-control study, the authors examined the relation between helmet use and neck injury among Québec, Canada, skiers and snowboarders using 10 years of ski patrol data (1995-1996 to 2004-2005). Cases were defined as persons with any neck injury (n = 2,986), an isolated neck injury requiring ambulance evacuation (n = 522), or a cervical spine fracture or dislocation (n = 318). The control group included persons with non-head, non-neck injuries (n = 97,408) in an unmatched analysis. The authors also matched cases with controls injured at the same ski area, during the same activity (skiing vs. snowboarding), and during the same season. Helmet use was the primary exposure variable. For the unmatched analysis, the authors used unconditional logistic regression and adjusted for clustering by ski area and other covariates. They used conditional logistic regression for the matched analysis. Multiple imputation was used to address missing values. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.09 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.95, 1.25) for any neck injury, 1.28 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.71) for isolated ambulance-evacuated neck injuries, and 1.02 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.31) for cervical spine fractures or dislocations. Similar results were found in the conditional logistic regression analysis and in analyses restricted to children under age 11 years. These results do not suggest that helmets increase the risk of neck injuries among skiers and snowboarders.

Characteristics of injuries sustained by snowboarders in a terrain park

Objective:To determine injured body regions and injury type resulting from snowboarding on aerial and nonaerial terrain park features and the accuracy of ski patrol assessments compared with physician diagnoses. Design:Case series study. Setting:An Alberta terrain park during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons. Patients:There were 333 snowboarders injured on features (379 injuries). Assessment of Risk Factors:Aerial or nonaerial terrain park feature used at injury, injured body region, injury type, and additional risk factors were recorded from ski patrol Accident Report Forms, emergency department medical records, and telephone interviews. Measures:Odds of injury to body regions and injury types on aerial versus nonaerial features were calculated using multinomial logistic regression. Accuracy of ski patrol injury assessments was examined through sensitivity, specificity, and kappa (&kgr;) statistics. Results:The wrist was the most commonly injured body region (20%), and fracture was the most common injury type (36%). Compared with the upper extremity, the odds of head/neck [odds ratio (OR), 2.58; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.37-4.85] and trunk (OR, 3.65; 95% CI, 1.68-7.95) injuries were significantly greater on aerial features. There was no significant association between aerial versus nonaerial feature and injury type. The accuracy of ski patrol injury assessment was higher for injured body region (&kgr; = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.54-0.75) than for injury type (&kgr; = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.22-0.37). Conclusions:Snowboarders were significantly more likely to sustain head/neck or trunk injuries than upper extremity injuries on aerial features. Investigators should acknowledge potential misclassification when using ski patrol injury assessments.

Clinical predictors of vestibulo-ocular dysfunction in pediatric sports-related concussion

OBJECTIVE There were 2 objectives of this study. The first objective was to identify clinical variables associated with vestibulo-ocular dysfunction (VOD) detected at initial consultation among pediatric patients with acute sports-related concussion (SRC) and postconcussion syndrome (PCS). The second objective was to reexamine the prevalence of VOD in this clinical cohort and evaluate the effect of VOD on length of recovery and the development of PCS. METHODS A retrospective review was conducted for all patients with acute SRC and PCS who were evaluated at a pediatric multidisciplinary concussion program from September 2013 to May 2015. Acute SRS was defined as presenting < 30 days postinjury, and PCS was defined according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision criteria and included being symptomatic 30 days or longer postinjury. The initial assessment included clinical history and physical examination performed by 1 neurosurgeon. Patients were assessed for VOD, defined as the presence of more than 1 subjective vestibular and oculomotor complaint (dizziness, diplopia, blurred vision, etc.) and more than 1 objective physical examination finding (abnormal near point of convergence, smooth pursuits, saccades, or vestibulo-ocular reflex testing). Poisson regression analysis was used to identify factors that increased the risk of VOD at initial presentation and the development of PCS. RESULTS Three hundred ninety-nine children, including 306 patients with acute SRC and 93 with PCS, were included. Of these patients, 30.1% of those with acute SRC (65.0% male, mean age 13.9 years) and 43.0% of those with PCS (41.9% male, mean age 15.4 years) met the criteria for VOD at initial consultation. Independent predictors of VOD at initial consultation included female sex, preinjury history of depression, posttraumatic amnesia, and presence of dizziness, blurred vision, or difficulty focusing at the time of injury. Independent predictors of PCS among patients with acute SRC included the presence of VOD at initial consultation, preinjury history of depression, and posttraumatic amnesia at the time of injury. CONCLUSIONS This study identified important potential risk factors for the development of VOD following pediatric SRC. These results provide confirmatory evidence that VOD at initial consultation is associated with prolonged recovery and is an independent predictor for the development of PCS. Future studies examining clinical prediction rules in pediatric concussion should include VOD. Additional research is needed to elucidate the natural history of VOD following SRC and establish evidence-based indications for targeted vestibular rehabilitation.

Graded aerobic treadmill testing in pediatric sports-related concussion: safety, clinical use, and patient outcomes

OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study were 2-fold: 1) to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and clinical use of graded aerobic treadmill testing in pediatric patients with sports-related concussion (SRC), and 2) to evaluate the clinical outcomes of treatment with a submaximal aerobic exercise program in patients with physiological post-concussion disorder (PCD). METHODS The authors conducted a retrospective chart review of pediatric patients (age < 20 years) with SRC who were referred to a multidisciplinary pediatric concussion program and underwent graded aerobic treadmill testing between October 9, 2014, and February 11, 2016. Clinical assessments were carried out by a single neurosurgeon and included clinical history taking, physical examination, and recording specific patient-reported concussion-related symptoms using the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS). Graded aerobic treadmill testing using a modified Balke protocol for incremental increases in intensity was used as a diagnostic tool to assess physiological recovery, classify post-concussion syndrome (PCS) subtype, and reassess patients following treatment. Patients with a symptom-limited threshold on treadmill testing (physiological PCD) were treated with an individually tailored submaximal exercise prescription and multidisciplinary targeted therapies. RESULTS One hundred six patients (mean age 15.1 years, range 11-19 years) with SRC underwent a total of 141 treadmill tests. There were no serious complications related to treadmill testing in this study. Overall, 138 (97.9%) of 141 tests were well tolerated and contributed valuable clinical information. Treadmill testing confirmed physiological recovery in 63 (96.9%) of 65 patients tested, allowing successful return to play in 61 (93.8%). Treadmill testing was used to diagnose physiological PCD in 58 patients and cervicogenic PCD in 1 patient. Of the 41 patients with physiological PCD who had complete follow-up and were treated with tailored submaximal exercise prescription, 37 (90.2%) were classified as clinically improved and 33 (80.5%) successfully returned to sporting activities. Patients who did not respond or experienced an incomplete response to submaximal aerobic exercise treatment included 7 patients with migraine headaches and 1 patient with a postinjury psychiatric disorder. CONCLUSIONS Graded aerobic treadmill testing is a safe, tolerable, and clinically valuable tool that can assist in the evaluation and management of pediatric SRC. Future research is needed to confirm the clinical value of this tool in return-to-play decision making. Studies are also needed to understand the pathophysiology of physiological PCD and the effects of targeted treatment.