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Holmes JF, Yen K, Ugalde IT, Ishimine P, Chaudhari PP, Atigapramoj N, Badawy M, McCarten-Gibbs KA, Nielsen D, Sage AC, Tatro G, Upperman JS, Adelson PD, Tancredi DJ, Kuppermann N. PECARN prediction rules for CT imaging of children presenting to the emergency department with blunt abdominal or minor head trauma: a multicentre prospective validation study. THE LANCET. CHILD & ADOLESCENT HEALTH 2024; 8:339-347. [PMID: 38609287 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-4642(24)00029-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The intra-abdominal injury and traumatic brain injury prediction rules derived by the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) were designed to reduce inappropriate use of CT in children with abdominal and head trauma, respectively. We aimed to validate these prediction rules for children presenting to emergency departments with blunt abdominal or minor head trauma. METHODS For this prospective validation study, we enrolled children and adolescents younger than 18 years presenting to six emergency departments in Sacramento (CA), Dallas (TX), Houston (TX), San Diego (CA), Los Angeles (CA), and Oakland (CA), USA between Dec 27, 2016, and Sept 1, 2021. We excluded patients who were pregnant or had pre-existing neurological disorders preventing examination, penetrating trauma, injuries more than 24 h before arrival, CT or MRI before transfer, or high suspicion of non-accidental trauma. Children presenting with blunt abdominal trauma were enrolled into an abdominal trauma cohort, and children with minor head trauma were enrolled into one of two age-segregated minor head trauma cohorts (younger than 2 years vs aged 2 years and older). Enrolled children were clinically examined in the emergency department, and CT scans were obtained at the attending clinician's discretion. All enrolled children were evaluated against the variables of the pertinent PECARN prediction rule before CT results were seen. The primary outcome of interest in the abdominal trauma cohort was intra-abdominal injury undergoing acute intervention (therapeutic laparotomy, angiographic embolisation, blood transfusion, intravenous fluid for ≥2 days for pancreatic or gastrointestinal injuries, or death from intra-abdominal injury). In the age-segregated minor head trauma cohorts, the primary outcome of interest was clinically important traumatic brain injury (neurosurgery, intubation for >24 h for traumatic brain injury, or hospital admission ≥2 nights for ongoing symptoms and CT-confirmed traumatic brain injury; or death from traumatic brain injury). FINDINGS 7542 children with blunt abdominal trauma and 19 999 children with minor head trauma were enrolled. The intra-abdominal injury rule had a sensitivity of 100·0% (95% CI 98·0-100·0; correct test for 145 of 145 patients with intra-abdominal injury undergoing acute intervention) and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100·0% (95% CI 99·9-100·0; correct test for 3488 of 3488 patients without intra-abdominal injuries undergoing acute intervention). The traumatic brain injury rule for children younger than 2 years had a sensitivity of 100·0% (93·1-100·0; 42 of 42) for clinically important traumatic brain injuries and an NPV of 100·0%; 99·9-100·0; 2940 of 2940), whereas the traumatic brain injury rule for children aged 2 years and older had a sensitivity of 98·8% (95·8-99·9; 168 of 170) and an NPV of 100·0% (99·9-100·0; 6015 of 6017). The two children who were misclassified by the traumatic brain injury rule were admitted to hospital for observation but did not need neurosurgery. INTERPRETATION The PECARN intra-abdominal injury and traumatic brain injury rules were validated with a high degree of accuracy. Their implementation in paediatric emergency departments can therefore be considered a safe strategy to minimise inappropriate CT use in children needing high-quality care for abdominal or head trauma. FUNDING The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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Affiliation(s)
- James F Holmes
- Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
| | - Kenneth Yen
- Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA; Children's Health, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Irma T Ugalde
- Department of Emergency Medicine, McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Paul Ishimine
- Department of Emergency Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Pradip P Chaudhari
- Division of Emergency and Transport Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nisa Atigapramoj
- Department of Emergency Medicine, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Mohamed Badawy
- Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA; Children's Health, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA
| | | | - Donovan Nielsen
- Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Allyson C Sage
- Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Grant Tatro
- Virginia Commonwealth School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Upperman
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - P David Adelson
- Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Daniel J Tancredi
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Nathan Kuppermann
- Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Sukhotnik I, Cohen N. Management of Blunt Pancreatic Trauma in Children: A Persistent Controversy-Case Report and Comprehensive Literature Review. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 11:135. [PMID: 38275445 PMCID: PMC10814196 DOI: 10.3390/children11010135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Blunt pancreatic injury (BPI) is relatively uncommon in children, and is associated with relatively high morbidity and mortality, especially if diagnosis is delayed. The aim of this report is to review the literature regarding controversial questions in the early diagnosis and management of pediatric BPI. A representative case of blunt pancreatic trauma in a six-year-old girl with delayed diagnosis and intraoperative and postoperative complications was described. A systematic search of databases and the grey literature in Scopus and Web of Science using relevant keywords was conducted. A total of 26 relevant articles published in last 5 years were found in PubMed. Although early CT performance is considered part of initial pancreatic trauma workup, the sensitivity of CT for detecting main pancreatic duct injuries in children is relatively low. MRCP and ERCP (if available) are useful for assessing ductal injury and should be performed when the status of the pancreatic duct is unclear on the CT. Most patients with low-grade pancreatic damage may be treated conservatively. Although surgery involving distal pancreatectomy remains the preferred approach for most children with high-grade pancreatic injury, there is growing evidence to suggest that non-operative management (NOM) is safe and effective. Most pancreatic pseudo cysts following NOM had relatively mild complications, and most resolved spontaneously. For those children who do require surgery, a conservative operative approach with the least risk is advocated. In conclusion, the optimal management for pediatric pancreatic trauma is controversial. Further clinical trials are required to generate clinical practice guidelines on pancreatic trauma in a child population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Sukhotnik
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Neta Cohen
- Pediatric Emergency Department, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 64239, Israel;
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