Archive for emergency medicine
Reversing the trend: Easing the mental health boarding crisis in emergency rooms
Anxiety, depression, and suicide attempts have been rising over the past decade, especially among teens, often landing them in emergency departments (EDs). Due to a nationwide shortage of beds in psychiatric treatment programs, virtually all pediatric hospitals are having to keep patients in the ED and on inpatient medical and surgical floors — sometimes for ... Read More about Reversing the trend: Easing the mental health boarding crisis in emergency rooms
Revisiting race and ethnicity in clinical guidelines
Health care institutions often rely on clinical pathways in assessing patients and making decisions about their care. Some of these care algorithms incorporate race, ethnicity, or ancestry as factors in decision making. But is this helpful or harmful? And is there solid evidence to justify treating people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds differently? Robert ... Read More about Revisiting race and ethnicity in clinical guidelines
A state policy made it harder for families to find shelter. Research helped change the policy.
Physicians and policy makers usually work in separate worlds: those of medicine and government. But when a change in Massachusetts policy led to an unprecedented increase in the number of homeless families seeking shelter in the emergency department (ED), physicians at Boston Children’s Hospital set out to reverse that policy. What happened next shows that ... Read More about A state policy made it harder for families to find shelter. Research helped change the policy.
An off-the-shelf tamponade kit provides surgeons with ‘the luxury of time’ during a life-threatening emergency
It was a late Friday afternoon in April when the call came: A young boy was being transferred to Boston Children’s emergency department after swallowing a button battery. Although his mother had previously taken him to another local hospital when she noticed he wasn’t eating or drinking much, the battery ingestion had been missed until ... Read More about An off-the-shelf tamponade kit provides surgeons with ‘the luxury of time’ during a life-threatening emergency
Study shows young adults don’t easily transition to self-care of diabetes
Diabetes is challenging to manage at any age, but even more so for young adults who are handling the condition on their own for the first time. They need to transition from pediatric to adult care as smoothly as possible — but a recent study finds this isn’t happening. Research led by Katharine Garvey, MD, MPH, ... Read More about Study shows young adults don’t easily transition to self-care of diabetes
A new symptom of COVID-19 in young children: Croup
During the Omicron surge, pediatricians and emergency departments (EDs) began noticing something new: a surge in croup among infants and young children. Marked by a distinctive “barking” cough and sometimes noisy, high-pitched intakes of breath, croup can happen when colds and other viral infections cause the voice box, windpipe, and bronchial tubes to become inflamed ... Read More about A new symptom of COVID-19 in young children: Croup
Cannabis edibles: Keep kids safe from adult ‘treats’
Candy and chips aren’t necessarily for kids anymore. These days, a chocolate bar, gummy, or bag of cheesy treats may contain a very adult ingredient: cannabis (also known as marijuana). As more states legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use, more of these potent treats are finding their ways into children’s mouths. While older kids ... Read More about Cannabis edibles: Keep kids safe from adult ‘treats’
When a friend dies by suicide: Preventing suicide contagion
Suicide can shake an entire community. For some kids, a friend or classmate’s suicide increases the risk that they may resort to the same behavior. This risk, known as suicide contagion, can affect people who lived down the street from the person who died, went to school with them, or simply saw them around town. ... Read More about When a friend dies by suicide: Preventing suicide contagion
Suicide prevention in teens: Can we intervene through primary care?
The past year has seen a disturbing rise in suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescents, with a spike of suicidal teens going to emergency departments (EDs). This adds to a growing trend: From 2007 to 2016, ED visits for deliberate self-harm more than quadrupled nationwide among children age 5 to 17. In a recent review ... Read More about Suicide prevention in teens: Can we intervene through primary care?
From ICU patient to nursing student: Atiana’s heart journey
Atiana Lancaster was 13 and playing the last few games of lacrosse season in 2015 when she started having unusual — and worrying — symptoms. “I had horrible headaches, tiredness, chest pain, and trouble breathing, so I had to keep going off the field when I was playing,” she says. “At the time, I thought ... Read More about From ICU patient to nursing student: Atiana’s heart journey