the injured child Flashcards
what is meant by a child being a ‘smaller target’ in terms of injury
relatively greater amount of energy absorbed for same force of impact
what is a Childs relative head size
large
describe child skeletal differences
- incompletely calcified
- soft
- springy
- deforms rather than breaks
- poor at absorbing energy
- provides less protection for vital organs
impact of them having less elastic connective tissue
- shearing and degloving
differences in thermoregulation
- little brown fat
- immature shivering
- pokilothermic
pokilothermic
temperature varies a lot
describe presence of hypoglycaemia in children
- little glycogen stored in liver
- exacerbated by hypothermia
- develops quickly in sick children
long term effects trauma
- psychological recovery
- effects on normal growth and development
life threatening respiratory obstruction disorders
- foreign body inhalation
- pneumothorax
- birth asphyxia
- croup
- epiglottitis
- broncholitis
- asthma
life threatening respiratory depression disorders
raised ICP
- head injury
- acute encephalopathy (meningitis/ encephalitis)
- poisoning
- convulsions
life threatening circulatory failure fluid loss
- burns
- trauma
- gastroenteritis
life threatening circulatory failure fluid maldistribution
- sepsis
- anaphylaxis
- heart failure
what is the aim of trauma resuscitation
to restore normal tissue oxygenation as quickly as possible
approach to child first coming into ED
cABCDE. DEFG primary survey and resus secondary survey emergency treatment definitive care reassessment
primary peak of deaths
- instantaneously or at scene
- unsurvivable major vessel/ brain injury
