Emergencies Flashcards
What signs may suggest an airway is partially obstructed and how is each managed?
- Harsh stridor- dexamethasone, ?adrenaline neb and secure airway (croup, epiglottis, anaphylaxis)
- soft stridor, drooling: intubate and IV abx
- wheeze: salbutamol nebs
- grunting: CPAP
- sudden stridor and cough: manage as foreign body
- sudden stridor + allergen: IM adrenaline
- gurgling: suction/ recovery position
How should breathing be assesed in A-E
- Effort: RR, posturing, recessions, acessory muscle use, nasal flaring
- Effectiveness; chest expansion, air entry, pulse oximetry
- Effects of inadequacy: HR, skin colour, mental sate
What are high resp rates for children of different ages?
Neonate: RR >60
Infant: RR: >50
Young child >40
Older child >30
How do you calculate volume needed for a fluid bolus in a pt thats in shock?
10-20mls/ kg of 0.9%normal saline.
If >40mls/kg is given then call ICU for inotropic support
What is stiff posturing and what does it suggest
- decorticate= arm flexed
- decerebrate= arms extended
- suggests serious brain dysfunction
what dose of IV dextrose is given to treat child with a hypo
up to 500mg/kg 10% dextrose
Define a brief resolved unexplained event
An episode, frightening to the observer, involving a combination of apnoea, choking or gagging, colour change, altered responsiveness and change in tone in a child <1 year
What could cause a brief resolved unexplained event?
- GORD is most common
- seizures
- CNS infection
- URTI/ resp infection
- breath holding
- sleep apnoea
- arrrhythmias
- congenital cardiac disease
- electrolyte errors
- meningitis / sepsis
- suffocation
- shaken baby syndrome
- factitious induced illness
- ingestion of toxins/ drugs
How should brief resolved unexplained events be investigated
- Low risk pts require only an ECG and prenasal swabs for pertussis as it could be whooping cough. Low risk pts are: age >2months, >32 gestation, no previous BRUE, event lasting <1min, no CPR by healthcare professional, no concerning features in hx or examination
- High risk pts would also get a CXR, blood gas, lab bloods (FBC, U&E, blood film, crp, bone profile and glucose)
How should higher risk BRUE pts be managed?
Admit for overnight sats and vital signs monitoring as a minimum. If stable overnight they can generally be discharged home with advice and BLS training. If there is particular concern they may get consultant outpt follow up
How should anaphylaxis be managed?
- Sit up if airway/ breathing problems
- lie flat and raise legs if circulatory problems
- give adrenaline IM
- establish airway, give high flow O2, give fluid challenge
- give chlorphenamine and hydrocortisone
- monitor sats, ECG and BP
- do mast cell tryptase as 1hr and 24hrs
- observe for 6 hrs due to risk of biphasic reaction, give antihistamines for 3 days and an autoinjector
- f/u allergy clinic
What dose of adrenaline should be given to children of different ages in anaphylaxis
All 1:1000, given IM
Adult and child >12: 500 micrograms (0.5ml)
6-12 yrs: 300micrograms (0.3ml)
<6yrs: 150micrograms (0.15ml)
What doses of chlorphenamine should be given to children of different ages in anaphylaxis
IM or slow IV Adult or >12: 10mg 6-12: 5mg 6 months- 6yrs: 1.5mg <6months: 150micrograms/ kg
What doses of hydrocortisone should be given to children of different ages in anaphylaxis
IM or slow IV adult or >12: 200mg 6-12: 100mg 6months- 6yrs: 50mg <6months: 25mg
Describe the clinical features of encephalitis
- Fever, headache, altered mental status
- Altered behaviour
- Altered cognition
- Reduced consciousness
- New onset seizures
- New focal neurological signs
Give 4 differentials for encephalitis
- meningitis
- intracranial haemorrhage
- hypo/ hyperglycaemia
- uraemia
- hyperammonia
- wernikes encephalopathy (alcohol abuse)
- concussion
- intoxication
- SLE
How do meningitis and encephalitis differ
- rarely get photophobia and neck stiffness in encephalitis
- seizures more common in encephalitis
- always get focal neurological signs in encephalitis, this is less common and occurs later in meningitis
What can cause encephalitis?
- viral: herpes simplex virus is most common, cmv, adenovirus, influenza, polio, rabies
- bacterial: tb, mycoplasma, listeria
- fungal: cyrptococcus, taxoplasmosis
- autoimmune: vasculitis, SLE
- renal or hepatic encephalopathy
- tumours, paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis