Paeds - Management Flashcards
Bronchiolitis - criteria for emergency admission 999
o Apnoea (observed or reported)
o Severe respiratory distress – grunting, marked chest recession, RR >70
o Central cyanosis
o Child looks seriously unwell
Bronchiolitis - criteria for hospital referral
o RR>60
o Inadequate feeding
o Inadequate oral fluid intake (50%-75% of usual volume)
o Clinical dehydration
o Persistent O2 sats. of
<90% for children >6w
<92% for babies <6w or children of any age with underlying health conditions
Bronchiolitis management
• Humidified O2
<90% for children >6w
<92% for babies <6w or children of any age with underlying health conditions
• Fluids
o NG or orogastric tube if children cannot take enough fluid by moth
o IV isotonic fluids if
Do not tolerate NG or orogastric fluids or
Have impending respiratory failure
• CPAP if impending respiratory failure
• Upper airway suctioning
o Not routinely performed
o If respiratory distress or feeding difficulties because of upper airway secretions
o Children presenting with apnoea even if there are no obvious upper airway secretions
Bronchiolitis discharge criteria
o Clinically stable
o Are taking adequate oral fluids
o Have maintained oxygen sats. in air at the following levels for >4h (incl. a period of sleep)
>90% for children >6w
>92% for babies <6w or children of any age with underlying health conditions
o Safety-net parent
Red flag symptoms
• Worsening work of breathing – grunting, nasal flaring, marked chest recession
• Apnoea or cyanosis
• Fluid intake 50-75% of normal or no wet nappy for 12 hours
• Exhaustion – not responding normally to social cues, wakes only with prolonged stimulation
Do not smoke - risk of bronchiolitis
How to get immediate help
Arrange F/U if necessary
Bronchiolitis prevention
o Infection control measures – RSV is highly infectious
o Palivizumab (monoclonal ab against RSV)
Reduces number of hospital admissions in high-risk preterm infants.
Should be used by those at high risk of severe RSV
• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD, also known as chronic lung disease)
• Pt at high risk due to CHD
• Pt at high risk due to SCID
First dose to be administered before the start of the RSV season
Croup management for all severities
• Steroids
o Single dose dexamethasone PO (0.15mg/kg) – 1st line or
o Inhaled budesonide (2mg nebulised as a single dose) or
o IM dexamethasone (0.6mg/kg as single dose)
Mild croup mx
- Single dose of dexamethasone PO (0.15mg/kg) stat
- Hospital admission not required
• Paracetamol or ibuprofen
o To control distress due to fever + pain
o Not for the sole aim of reducing body temperature
o Should be continued as long as the child appears distressed
• Safety-netting o Self-limiting o Symptoms resolve within 48h o Illness tends to last for about 3-7 days o Can persist for up to 2 weeks
o Seek urgent medical advice if there is deterioration
Stridor heard continually
Intercostal recession
Restless/agitated child
o Call 999
Pale, blue, grey child for more than a few seconds
Unusually sleepy, not responding
Respiratory distress (nasal flaring, tracheal tug, subcostal/intercostal recession)
Agitated/restless, prefer to sit instead of lie down
Cannot talk, are drooling, have trouble swallowing
o Do
Stay calm
Sit your child upright
Comfort them if they are distressed – crying can make the sx worse
Encourage fluid intake/BF continuation
Check on the child regularly incl. through night
o Do not
Attempt to reduce fever by under-dressing the child
Put the child in a steamy room or get them to inhale steam
Give them cough or cold medicines
• Arrange F/U
Moderate/severe croup mx
criteria for admission
mx while awaiting for admission
Immediate admission
• Moderate/severe croup
• Impending respiratory failure
• Consider admission - RR >60 or high fever or “toxic” appearance
• Lower threshold for admission Mild coup in a patient with
o Chronic lung disease
o Haemodynamically significant CHD
o Neuromuscular disorders
o Immunodeficiency
o <3m, <12m
o Inadequate fluid intake (50-75% of usual volume or no wet nappy for 12 hours)
o Factors that might affect carer’s ability to look after a child with coup, carer not being able to spot deteriorating symptoms
o Longer distance to healthcare
While awaiting hospital admission
• Steroids - dexamethasone PO (0.15mg/kg, 12hourly) stat
o If the child is too unwell to receive medication, inhaled budesonide (2 mg nebulised as a single dose) or intramuscular dexamethasone (0.6 mg/kg as a single dose) are possible alternatives
• Nebulised adrenaline/epinephrine 1 in 1000 (1mg/ml) with oxygen
o Face (non-rebreathe) mask
If stridor at rest +/- agitation or lethargy – Transient relief of sx
o Severe croup not controlled with CS treatment
o Clinical effects of neb. Adrenaline/epinephrine last at least 1h, usually subside 2h after administration – monitor child carefully for recurrence of severe respiratory distress
- Controlled supplementary O2 if stridor at rest with agitation or lethargy
- Impending respiratory failure – intubation
Whooping cough management
• Notifiable disease complete a form + send it to local PHE centre within 3 days
• Admission
o Seriously unwell
o <6m + acutely unwell
o Has breathing difficulties (e.g. apnoea episodes, severe paroxysms, cyanosis)
o Has a significant complication (e.g. seizures, pneumonia)
o (inform the hospital of the need for appropriate isolation before the person is admitted)
• Antibiotic
o If onset of cough within the previous 21 days
o Macrolide – 1st line
<1 month - Clarithromycin
>1 month + non-pregnant adults - azithromycin, clarithromycin
Pregnant - erythromycin
- From 36w to reduce risk of transmission to the newborn baby
- <36 weeks – if within the first 21 days of illness or if she is likely to come into close contact with a person from a vulnerable group
o Co-trimoxazole – 2nd line
Not licensed for use in infant <6w
Contraindicated in pregnancy
Clarithromycin + erythromycin are CY3A(4/5) inhibitors
Do not co-prescribe in people taking statins
• Advice on rest, adequate fluid intake, paracetamol/ibuprofen for symptomatic relief
• Children/HCP to stay off nurser/school/work
o until 48h of appropriate abx treatment has been completed or
o until 21 days after the onset of symptoms if not treated
- Safety-net – seek medical advice if they develop clinical features of any complications
- When the person has recovered from an acute illness - arrange for them to have any outstanding vaccinations
Whooping cough management of contacts
o Macrolide – 1st line
<1 month Clarithromycin
>1 month + non-pregnant adults azithromycin, clarithromycin
Pregnant erythromycin
• From 36w to reduce risk of transmission to the newborn baby
• <36 weeks – if within the first 21 days of illness or if she is likely to come into close contact with a person from a vulnerable group
• Offer abx prophylaxis (see above) to close contacts of the index case when the symptoms of the index case occurred within the previous 21 days + the close contact is in one of the following priority groups
o Group 1 – infants at increased risk of severe complications from pertussis
Unimmunised infants born <32w, <2 months of age, regardless of maternal vaccine status
Unimmunised infants born >32w, <2 months of age whose mothers did not receive maternal pertussis vaccine after 16w and at least 2 weeks before delivery
Unimmunised/partially immunised* infants >2 months regardless of maternal vaccine status
*Partially immunised = <3 dose of DTaP/IPV/Hib up to 1 year of age
o Group 2 – people at increased risk of transmitting infection to Group 1 + who have not received a pertussis containing vaccine >1 week + <5 years ago
Pregnant women at >32w
HCP who work with infants + pregnant women
People whose work involves regular close or prolonged contact with infants too young to be fully vaccinated
People who share a household with an infant too young to be fully vaccinated
• Offer immunisation
o Non-immunised/partly-immunised contacts <10 years - to complete the schedule of the Childhood Immunization Programme
o >10 years - booster dose of pertussis containing vaccine if
They have not received a dose of tetanus-diphtheria-inactivated polio vaccine (Td-IPV) in the preceding month
They have not received a pertussis booster in the past 5 years
o Pregnant women who receive a dose of pertussis-containing vaccine <16w - to be given a further dose after 16w to protect the neonate before the time of their first routine vaccination
Pneumonia in children immediate referral for admission
o Persistent SpO2 <92% on air
o Grunting, marked chest recession, RR >70/min (>50/min in an older child)
o Cyanosis
o Child looks seriously unwell, does not wake, does not stay awake if roused, does not respond to normal social cure
o T >38 in a child <3 months
o Significant tachycardia for level of fever
o Prolonged CRT
o Difficulty breathing as shown by intermittent apnoea, grunting, not feeding
Pneumonia in children consider admission
o <6m
o Dehydration
o Decreased activity
o Nasal flaring
o Predisposing diseases (e.g. chronic lung disease, CHD, chronic respiratory conditions, immunodeficiency)
o Abx treatment failed – most children improve after 48h of oral outpatient abx
Pneumonia in children mx while awaiting hospital admission
o Controlled supplemental O2 if SpO2 <92% - maintain O2 sat. >92%
o If respiratory distress does not respond to oxygen + general support of the child’s own respiratory effort intubation (required when the child’s own breathing becomes ineffective e.g. hypoxia, increasing CO2, decreasing level of consciousness)
Pneumonia in children mx
• Antibiotic choice
o <1m – refer to paediatric specialist
o >1m + non-severe symptoms or signs – amoxicillin for 5/7
o >1m + allergic to penicillin or amoxicillin unsuitable
Clarithromycin (1m-17y)
o >1m + severe symptoms or signs - co-amoxiclav
o >1m + severe symptoms or signs + atypical pathogen suspected - add clarithromycin or erythromycin (in pregnancy)
Macrolides can be added at any stage if there is not response to first line treatment
• Antibiotics
o Asap
o Certainly within 4 hours
o Within 1 hour if the person has suspected sepsis + meets any of the high-risk criteria
o Oral – 1st line
o IV – 2nd line
Review by 48h
Consider switching to oral
o Stop abx treatment after 5 days unless microbiological results suggest a longer course is needed or the person is not clinically stable
Fever in past 48h
>1 sign of clinical instability – SBP <90mmHg, HR >100 bpm, RR <24/minute, arterial O2 sats. <90% or PaO2 <60mmHg in room air
• Supportive mx
o Paracetamol or ibuprofen as antipyretics if child is distressed
o Keep adequate hydration
Symptoms should start to improve within 3 days
• Immunisation
o HiB + pneumococcal – all infants
o Influenza – high risk infants
Mesenteric adenitis mx
• Self-limiting • Supportive treatment o Paracetamol, ibuprofen for the pain o Hydration • Abx if bacterial infection is suspected
Biliary atresia mx in infants with biliary obstruction without end-stage liver disease
• Hepatoportoenterostomy (HPE)/ Kasai portoenterostomy– 1st line
o Should ideally be performed before 45-60 days of life
• Ursodeoxycholic acid
o Hepatoprotective
o Facilitates bile flow
o Started after urinary bile acids have been sent for analysis
o Continued until the resolution of jaundice
o If total bilirubin >256.6 micromol/L (>15 mg/dL) – should not be given – bile acid load is too high, unlikely to be helpful
• Liver transplantation – 2nd line (+ ursodeoxycholic acid)
Indications for liver transplantation in infants with biliary atresia
Unsuccessful hepatoportoenterostomy
Signs of end-stage liver disease (frank ascites, variceal bleeding)
Progressive cholestasis
Hepatocellular decompensation
Development of severe portal hypertension
Growth failure
Describe the Kasai procedure (biliary atresia)
Hepatoportoenterostomy (HPE)
o Procedure involves
Ligating the fibrous ducts above the join with the duodenum
Dissecting proximally to the porta hepatis (from which bile usually flows from the liver)
Joining a loop of jejunum directly to the porta hepatis of the liver facilitates bile duct drainage
o Alleviates obstruction and prevents liver damage
Infants with biliary atresia - post hepatoportoenterostomy mx
• Abx prophylaxis
o Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
Contraindicated in children <2months of age due to high risk of kernicterus – still used with caution
o All patients receive axb prophylaxis for the first year of life
o To prevent cholangitis
• Ursodeoxycholic acid
o Promotes bile flow
• Nutritional support
o Fortified breast milk or medium chain triglyceride enriched formula (+higher concentrations if required to promote growth) with monthly monitoring
• Vitamin supplementation (fat soluble vitamins – ADEK)
o Vitamin A + ergocalciferol + alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) + phytomenadione (vitamin K1)
o Levels should be monitored and dose adjusted accordingly
o If growth develops normally, child may be switched to multivitamins + annual follow-up after 1 year
Intestinal atresia mx
• Resuscitation + correction of dehydration o NBM o NG tube – suction to keep stomach empty o IV lines in umbilical artery + vein Nutrition Hydration Broad spectrum abx FBC
• Surgical correction
o Usually performed in the first few days of life, as soon as the baby is stabilised
o Depends on the atresia site
o Mainly end-to-end attachment to form an anastomosis
• Discharge
o When baby is able to take in enough feeding volume to provide good nutrition + is gaining weight
o 2 weeks – f/u w surgeon
o Feeding to begin slowly, first via breast milk through the NG tube, increasing in volume over time as the baby tolerates feedings
o Safetynetting – call child’s doctor if Fever >38 Decreased number of wet nappies Vomiting, not tolerating feeds Incision looks infected
o Refer to nutritionist to track growth
Cerebral palsy mx of spasticity
• Spasticity
o Oral medications
From mid-childhood onwards
For significant spasticity interfering with function – 1st line treatment
Diazepam – patient may develop dependence
Dantrolene – risk of hepatotoxicity (requires monitoring)
Tizanidine – risk of hepatotoxicity (requires monitoring)
Baclofen – may potentiate seizures, abrupt withdrawal may also cause seizures +/or psychosis
o Botulinum toxin type A
For muscle spasticity
Temporarily weakens muscle
Onset of action 1-2 days, muscle consistency altered by day 10, typically lasts for 3-4 months
o Intrathecal baclofen - spasticity, improves endurance, comfort + ease of care, reduces fatigue + pain
o Selective dorsal rhizotomy
Some of the nerve roots of the spinal cord are cut to reduce spasticity that may impede walking
Post-operative weakness may require aggressive physiotherapy
Irreversible
o Deep brain stimulation
Cerebral palsy MDT
o Main members – paediatrician, nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, SALT, dietetics, psychology, psychosocial services
o Supplementary members – orthopaedics, orthotics, visual and hearing, neurology, neurosurgery, urology, ophthalmology
Cerebral palsy interventions for all patients
o All children with CP for an initial baseline ophthalmological + orthoptic assessment
o OT + PT – strengthening of weak muscles, stretching of shortened muscles, coordination activities, encouraging symmetry of gait + posture
o Might need walking aids
o Physiotherapy – encourage movement, improve strength, stop muscles from losing range of motion
o Occupational therapy – identify everyday tasks that may be difficult and help make these tasks more accessible
o Speech therapy
Interventions for speech intelligibility – posture, breath control, voice production, rate of speech
Augmentative + alternative communication systems if they need support understanding + producing speech – pictures, objects, symbols, signs, speech generating devices
Note – communication difficulty does not necessarily correlate with LD
o Optimise nutritional status
Refer to dietician (1st line)
Refer for enteral tube feeding (2nd line)
Cerebral palsy drooling mx
Anticholinergic medication – 1st line
• Glycopyrronium bromide (oral or by enteral tube) or
• Transdermal hyoscine hydrobromide or
• Trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride (for children with dyskinetic CP but only after input from specialist services)
Refer to specialist – 2nd line
• Botulinum toxin A injections to the salivary glands
• If anticholinergics contraindicated/ineffective/not tolerated
Surgery – 3rd line