Larry J. Baraff

Outcomes of bacterial meningitis in children : a meta-analysis

We abstracted the results of all English language reports of the outcomes of bacterial meningitis published after 1955. We used hierarchical Bayesian meta-analysis to determine the overall and organism-specific frequencies of death and persistent neurologic sequelae in children 2 months to 19 years of age. A total of 4920 children with acute bacterial meningitis were included in 45 reports that met the inclusion criteria. Children described in the 19 reports of prospectively enrolled cohorts from developed countries had lower mortality (4.8% vs. 8.1%) and were more likely to have no sequelae (82.5% vs. 73.9%). In these 19 studies 1602 children were evaluated for at least 1 sequela after hospital discharge. The mean probabilities of these sequelae were: deafness, 10.5%; bilateral severe or profound deafness, 5.1%; mental retardation, 4.2%; spasticity and/or paresis, 3.5%; seizure disorder, 4.2%; and no detectable sequelae, 83.6%. Mean probabilities of outcomes varied significantly by etiologic bacteria, e.g. mortality: Haemophilus influenzae, 3.8%; Neisseria meningitis, 7.5%; Streptococcus pneumoniae, 15.3%.

Practice guideline for the management of infants and children 0 to 36 months of age with fever without source

STUDY OBJECTIVE To develop guidelines for the care of infants and children from birth to 36 months of age with fever without source. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING An expert panel of senior academic faculty with expertise in pediatrics and infectious diseases or emergency medicine. DESIGN AND INTERVENTION A comprehensive literature search was used to identify all publications pertinent to the management of the febrile child. When appropriate, meta-analysis was used to combine the results of multiple studies. One or more specific management strategies were proposed for each of the decision nodes in draft management algorithms. The draft algorithms, selected publications, and the meta-analyses were provided to the panel, which determined the final guidelines using the modified Delphi technique. RESULTS All toxic-appearing infants and children and all febrile infants less than 28 days of age should be hospitalized for parenteral antibiotic therapy. Febrile infants 28 to 90 days of age defined at low risk by specific clinical and laboratory criteria may be managed as outpatients if close follow-up is assured. Older children with fever less than 39.0 C without source need no laboratory tests or antibiotics. Children 3 to 36 months of age with fever of 39.0 C or more and whose WBC count is 15,000/mm3 or more should have a blood culture and be treated with antibiotics pending culture results. Urine cultures should be obtained from all boys 6 months of age or less and all girls 2 years of age or less who are treated with antibiotics. CONCLUSION These guidelines do not eliminate all risk or strictly confine antibiotic treatment to children likely to have occult bacteremia. Physicians may individualize therapy based on clinical circumstances or adopt a variation of these guidelines based on a different interpretation of the evidence.

Defining normal capillary refill: Variation with age, sex, and temperature

Capillary refill has been advocated as an indicator of perfusion status (shock) in seriously ill patients. An upper limit of normal of two seconds has been recommended; there is no published evidence that supports this value. To investigate the validity of the two-second upper limit of normal and to examine the variation of capillary refill with age and temperature, we measured capillary refill in 100 healthy child, 104 adult, and 100 elderly volunteers. In addition, 20 adults were measured before and after a one-minute immersion in 14 C water. Median capillary refill times for the young female, young male, and adult male volunteers were 0.7, 0.8, and 1.0 seconds, respectively. These times were significantly shorter than those of the adult women, elderly women, and elderly men groups, whose median times were 1.2, 1.5, and 1.8 seconds, respectively. In the temperature experiment, preimmersion times were significantly shorter (median, 1.3 seconds) than those after immersion (median, 2.9 seconds) (P less than .01). We conclude that capillary refill is age and temperature dependent. Application of the two-second upper limit of normal to our populations would result in a false-positive rate of 4.0% for the pediatric and adult male volunteers, 13.7% for the adult female volunteers, and 29.0% for the elderly volunteers. The upper limit of normal for adult women should be changed to 2.9 seconds, and the upper limit of normal for the elderly should be changed to 4.5 seconds if 95% of all normal patients are to be contained within the normal range. The temperature dependence of capillary refill raises questions regarding its reliability in the prehospital setting.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Is the use of pan-computed tomography for blunt trauma justified? A prospective evaluation.

OBJECTIVE Many trauma centers use the pan-computed tomography (CT) scan (head, neck, chest, and abdomen/pelvis) for the evaluation of blunt trauma. This prospective observational study was undertaken to determine whether a more selective approach could be justified. METHODS We evaluated injuries in blunt trauma victims receiving a pan-CT scan at a level I trauma center. The primary outcome was injury needing immediate intervention. Secondary outcome was any injury. The perceived need for each scan was independently recorded by the emergency medicine and trauma surgery service before patients went to CT. A scan was unsupported if at least one of the physicians deemed it unnecessary. RESULTS Between July, 1, 2007, and December, 28, 2007, 284 blunt trauma patients (average Injury Severity Score = 11) underwent a pan-CT after the survey form was completed. A total of 311 CT scans were judged to be unnecessary in 143 patients (27%), including scans of the head (62), neck (50), chest (116), and abdomen/pelvis (83). Of the 284 patients, 48 (17%) had injuries on 52 unsupported CT scans. An immediate intervention was required in 2 of the 48 patients (4%). Injuries that would have been missed included 5 of 62 unsupported head scans (8%), 2 of 50 neck scans (4%), 33 of 116 chest scans (28%), and 12 of 83 abdominal scans (14%). These missed injuries represent 5 of the 61 patients with closed head injuries (8%) in the series, 2 of the 23 with C-spine injuries (9%), 33 of the 112 with chest injuries (29%), and 12 of the 86 with abdominal injuries (14%). In 19 patients, none of the four CT scans was supported; nine of these had an injury identified, and six were admitted to the hospital (1 to the intensive care unit). Injuries that would have been missed included intraventricular and intracerebral hemorrhage (4), subarachnoid hemorrhage (2), cerebral contusion (1), C1 fracture (1), spinous and transverse process fractures (3), vertebral fracture (6), lung lacerations (1), lung contusions (14), small pneumothoraces (7), grade II-III liver and splenic lacerations (6), and perinephric or mesenteric hematomas (2). CONCLUSIONS In this small sample, physicians were willing to omit 27% of scans. If this was done, two injuries requiring immediate actions would have been missed initially, and other potentially important injuries would have been missed in 17% of patients.

Editorial ☆: Clinical policy for children younger than three years presenting to the emergency department with fever

In this issue of Annals, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Clinical Policies Committee presents ACEP’s “Clinical Policy for Children Younger Than Three Years Presenting to the Emergency Department With Fever.”1 This evidence-based guideline is one of many developed by this committee and published in Annals. I am pleased that so many physicians and medical organizations have recognized the value of evidence-based medicine, have overcome initial apprehensions about “cookbook medicine” and potential malpractice risks, and have adopted the use of complaintspecific guidelines as a starting point to determine the appropriate diagnostic tests and treatments in carefully selected groups of patients. I await the day when these guidelines will be incorporated into an electronic medical record and can be used contemporaneously with patient care by the majority of practicing physicians.2,3 In general, this clinical policy restates much of what was noted in an article I authored in Annals in 2000, which was an update of a guideline developed by experts in pediatric emergency medicine and pediatric infectious diseases published simultaneously in Pediatrics and Annals of Emergency Medicine in 1993.4,5 The original guideline was primarily created for the following reasons: (1) to reduce the number of hospital admissions in the 1to 3-month age group using the P E D I A T R I C S / E D I T O R I A L

Sensitivity of Noncontrast Cranial Computed Tomography for the Emergency Department Diagnosis of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

STUDY OBJECTIVE Emergency physicians use noncontrast cranial computed tomographic (CT) imaging of headache patients to identify subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations. Given sufficiently high sensitivity, CT imaging could be used as a definitive diagnostic study in these patients. The purpose of this study is to determine the sensitivity of noncontrast cranial CT in detecting all spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhages and those caused by aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation. METHODS This was a retrospective review performed at an urban tertiary academic emergency department (ED). Using a combination of noncontrast cranial CT radiology coding, lumbar puncture results, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision discharge diagnosis, and medical record review, we identified all patients who presented to a tertiary care academic ED from August 1, 2001, to December 31, 2004, with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. We determined whether patients were diagnosed by cranial CT or lumbar puncture, the presence of headache and level of consciousness at ED presentation, and whether or not they had an aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation. RESULTS We identified 149 patients who were diagnosed with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage during the study period. Noncontrast cranial CT scan diagnosed 139 patients, and 10 were diagnosed with lumbar puncture. This yielded an overall CT scan sensitivity of 93% (95% confidence interval [CI] 88% to 97%). Of the 149 with subarachnoid hemorrhage, 117 (79%) had aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation; cranial CT scan demonstrated subarachnoid hemorrhage in 110 of the 117, for a sensitivity of 94% (95% CI 88% to 98%). For the 67 patients presenting with headache and normal mental status who had a subarachnoid hemorrhage and vascular lesions (either aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation), the sensitivity of cranial CT scan was 91% (95% CI 82% to 97%). CONCLUSION Noncontrast CT imaging exhibits inadequate sensitivity to serve as a sole diagnostic modality in detecting spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation.

Selective Use of Computed Tomography Compared With Routine Whole Body Imaging in Patients With Blunt Trauma

STUDY OBJECTIVE Routine pan-computed tomography (CT, including of the head, neck, chest, abdomen/pelvis) has been advocated for evaluation of patients with blunt trauma based on the belief that early detection of clinically occult injuries will improve outcomes. We sought to determine whether selective imaging could decrease scan use without missing clinically important injuries. METHODS This was a prospective observational study of 701 patients with blunt trauma at an academic trauma center. Before scanning, the most senior emergency physician and trauma surgeon independently indicated which components of pan-CT were necessary. We calculated the proportion of scans deemed unnecessary that: (a) were abnormal and resulted in a pre-defined critical action or (b) were abnormal. RESULTS Pan-CT was performed in 600 of the patients; the remaining 101 underwent limited scanning. One or both physicians indicated a willingness to omit 35% of the individual scans. An abnormality was present in 18% of scans, including 22% of desired scans and 10% of undesired scans. Among the 95 patients who had one of the 102 undesired scans with abnormal results, 3 underwent a predefined critical action. There is disagreement among the authors about the clinical significance of the abnormalities found on the 99 undesired scans that did not lead to a critical action. CONCLUSION Selective scanning could reduce the number of scans, missing some injuries but few critical ones. The clinical importance of injuries missed on undesired scans was subject to individual interpretation, which varied substantially among authors. This difference of opinion serves as a microcosm of the larger debate on appropriate use of expensive medical technologies.

An Emergency Department Intervention for Linking Pediatric Suicidal Patients to Follow-Up Mental Health Treatment

OBJECTIVE Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents. Many suicidal youths treated in emergency departments do not receive follow-up treatment as advocated by the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Two strategies for improving rates of follow-up treatment were compared. METHODS In a randomized controlled trial, suicidal youths at two emergency departments (N=181; ages ten to 18) were individually assigned between April 2003 and August 2005 to one of two conditions: an enhanced mental health intervention involving a family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy session designed to increase motivation for follow-up treatment and safety, supplemented by care linkage telephone contacts after emergency department discharge, or usual emergency department care enhanced by provider education. Assessments were conducted at baseline and approximately two months after discharge from the emergency department or hospital. The primary outcome measure was rates of outpatient mental health treatment after discharge. RESULTS Intervention patients were significantly more likely than usual care patients to attend outpatient treatment (92% versus 76%; p=.004). The intervention group also had significantly higher rates of psychotherapy (76% versus 49%; p=.001), combined psychotherapy and medication (58% versus 37%; p=.003), and psychotherapy visits (mean 5.3 versus 3.1; p=.003). Neither the emergency department intervention nor community outpatient treatment (in exploratory analyses) was significantly associated with improved clinical or functioning outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Results support efficacy of the enhanced emergency department intervention for improving linkage to outpatient mental health treatment but underscore the need for improved community outpatient treatment to prevent suicide, suicide attempts, and poor clinical and functioning outcomes for suicidal youths treated in emergency departments.

CAPILLARY REFILL - IS IT A USEFUL PREDICTOR OF HYPOVOLEMIC STATES ?

STUDY OBJECTIVES To evaluate whether the capillary refill test can correctly differentiate between hypovolemic and euvolemic emergency department patients. DESIGN A prospective, nonrandomized, nonblinded time series. SETTING The orthostatic and hypotensive patients were seen in a university hospital ED with 44,000 visits per year. Blood donors were studied in the hospitals blood donor center. TYPE OF PARTICIPANTS Thirty-two adult ED patients who presented with a history suggestive of hypovolemia and either abnormal orthostatic vital signs (19) or frank hypotension (13), and 47 volunteer blood donors who ranged in age from 19 to 83 participated. INTERVENTIONS Capillary refill was measured before rehydration in the ED subjects and, in the donor group, before and after a 450-mL blood donation. MEASUREMENTS Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, and study group. MAIN RESULTS For the blood donor group, mean capillary refill time before donation was 1.4 seconds and after donation was 1.1 seconds. Mean capillary refill time for the orthostatic group was 1.9 seconds and for the hypotensive group was 2.8 seconds. When scored with age-sex specific upper limits of normal, the sensitivity of capillary refill in identifying hypovolemic patients was 6% for the 450-mL blood loss group, 26% for the orthostatic group, and 46% for the hypotensive group. The accuracy of capillary refill in a patient with a 50% prior probability of hypovolemia is 64%. Orthostatic vital signs were found to be more sensitive and specific than capillary refill in detecting the 450-mL blood loss. CONCLUSION Capillary refill does not appear to be a useful test for detecting mild-to-moderate hypovolemia in adults.

Practice Guideline for the Ed Management of Falls in Community-dwelling Elderly Persons

Abstract [Baraff LJ, Della Penna R, Williams N, Sanders A: Practice guideline for the ED management of falls in community-dwelling elderly persons. Ann Emerg Med October 1997;30:480-489.]