Nguyen Nguyen The Phung; Trang Thi Thanh Vo; Kam Lun Ellis Hon
Volume 8, Issue 2 , April 2020, , Pages 121-124
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to describe lung ultrasonography (LUS) characteristics and to evaluate the agreement between LUS and chest radiography (CXR) in diagnosis of four conditions causing most acute dyspnea in children, namely, pneumonia, pleural effusion, pneumothorax and acute pulmonary edema ...
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The aim of the current study was to describe lung ultrasonography (LUS) characteristics and to evaluate the agreement between LUS and chest radiography (CXR) in diagnosis of four conditions causing most acute dyspnea in children, namely, pneumonia, pleural effusion, pneumothorax and acute pulmonary edema in children at a teaching hospital in Vietnam. We reviewed the records of the chidren between January and June 2018, who presented to emergency department (ED) or pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at children hospital 1 (CH1) with acute dyspnea and had final diagnosis of one of four etiologies including pneumonia, pleural effusion, pneumothorax and acute pulmonary edema. All patients underwent CXR and LUS at the time of admission. Eighty-one children with acute dyspnea including pneumonia (n=65, 80%), pleural effusion (n=9, 11%), pneumothorax (n=3, 4%) and acute pulmonary edema (n=4, 5%) were enrolled. LUS was identified among 100% of cases with pleural effusion and pneumothorax (CXR only showed 73.3% and 50%, respectively); 92.3% of cases with pneumonia (CXR showed 93.8%) and only 75% of cases with acute pulmonary edema (CXR showed 50%). When comparing LUS with CXR, we noticed a good agreeement between the 2 methods in the diagnosis of pneumonia (kappa=0.64, p<0.001). LUS was shown to be a feasible and non-invasive technique which can help clinicians to comfirm the etiology of acute pulmonary dyspnea.
Kam Lun Ellis Hon; Szewei Huang; Wai Sang Poon; Hon Ming Cheung; Patrick Ip; Benny Zee
Volume 7, Issue 3 , July 2019, , Pages 256-262
Abstract
Objective: To determine the mortality, morbidity, types of intracranial hemorrhages, and factors associated with length of stay (LOS) associated with accidental traumatic brain injury (TBI) at a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a regional trauma center in an Asian city.Methods: This study is a ...
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Objective: To determine the mortality, morbidity, types of intracranial hemorrhages, and factors associated with length of stay (LOS) associated with accidental traumatic brain injury (TBI) at a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a regional trauma center in an Asian city.Methods: This study is a retrospective review of types of head injury, mortality and morbidity demographics of patients admitted to a PICU with TBI. All patients with accidental TBI were included, namely road traffic injury (RTI) and fall, and their demographics compared. Non-accidental injuries (NAI) were excluded.Results: 95 children (78% males) were admitted to a PICU with RTI or falls from 2002 to 2017. They accounted for 3.7% of PICU admissions. Comparing with falls, victims of RTI were older (p<0.001) and more likely to suffer from skull fracture (p=0.017). There were 4 deaths with falls (6.8%) but none with RTI. Subarachnoid hemorrhages, extradural hemorrhages, the use of mechanical ventilation, inotropes and neurological supports were associated with longer LOS in PICU in these injuries (p<0.001).Conclusion: A longer PICU LOS is associated with extradural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, usage of inotropes, mechanical ventilation and neurological supports in falls and RTI. Three-quarters of victims are males. Preventive health education should be especially directed to boys to reduce severe TBI in this Asian city.
