Observation Ward Research Articles

Spectrum of diseases and injuries presentation among patients visiting Emergency Department at Janaki Medical College Teaching Hospital

Background & Objectives: The Global Burden of Disease study is a systemic effort to quantify the comparative magnitude of the health loss due to diseases, injuries and risk factors by age, sex and geographies in specific point of time. Five out of ten causes of disease burden in 2017 in Nepal are Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs), ischemic heart disease (IHD), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (LRTI) and Tuberculosis (TB). We aimed to find out the demographic, clinical presentation and outcome of Emergency patients at Janaki Medical College Teaching Hospital (JMCTH) Emergency department. Materials and Methods: A descriptive observational study of patients visiting ED at Janaki Medical College, Ramdaiya, Bhawadi, Dhanusha. Distinctiveness of adult patients who entered the emergency department (ED) in a hospital in Nepal were prospectively recorded in the local emergency registry from 2023-04-15 to 2023-07-18. Post-ED mortality, patient households were followed-up by telephone interviews at 90 days. Patients were diagnosed, treated and admitted in different wards for further evaluation and treatment. Data were collected, analyzed, interpreted, using SPSS version 20. Results: The majority of patients were male (55.58%) predominantly from Dhanusha (79.4%). Common symptoms included musculoskeletal pain (16.5%), abdominal pain (13.3%), and fever (9.9%). The most common diseases were acute pain abdomen (21.26%) and hypertension (11.06%), Abrasions (35%) and cut injuries (13.59%) were the most frequent injuries. Most of the patients were admitted to the observation ward (52.9%). Conclusion: Most patients attending emergency department were young males from Dhanusha, primarily of Terai Madheshi and other castes. The results emphasize the necessity of better emergency care services and public health initiatives in Janakpurdham, as well as the critical role of emergency departments which provides services in wide range of acute and chronic diseases.

Analysis of problems occurring in the care of a patient with liver cirrhosis

Introduction: Liver cirrhosis is a disease whose development is influenced by many factors, including those related to lifestyle. The disease causes disturbances in the functioning of not only the liver but also many other organs and systems. During the course of the disease, there are a number of complications that affect the patient's functioning in all areas. Patients with liver cirrhosis require constant and systematic treatment and comprehensive care, including care provided by nursing staff. Purpose of research: Analysis of problems occurring in the care of patients with liver cirrhosis Material and methods: The study included 103 patients with liver cirrhosis, hospitalized from October 10, 2022 to April 10, 2023. in the Observation and Infection Ward for Adults of the SPZOZ in Puławy. The method used in the work was a diagnostic survey, the technique was a survey, and the research tool was an original survey questionnaire developed for the needs of the research. Results: Patients with liver cirrhosis have many problems of a physical nature and related to non-compliance with medical recommendations, which may affect the inhibition of the progression of the disease, the prevention of complications and the improvement of the general condition. Conclusions: Patients with liver cirrhosis have a number of physical problems, the knowledge of which may affect the organization of work of nursing staff, facilitate the identification of problems, help determine the goal of care and plan nursing interventions. Not all respondents followed the specialist's recommendations, including: in the field of pharmacotherapy, dietary recommendations, performing check-ups, reporting for follow-up visits and physical activity. An important element in the care of a patient with liver cirrhosis is patient education and motivation to follow recommendations that are important in stopping the progression of the disease, preventing complications and improving the general condition.

Low-cost and portable physiological signal monitor using PhysRate model

In this work, we propose a lightweight non-contact physiological signal monitor. The proposed system is equipped with the modified DeepPhys model and the rate estimation model PhysRate that enable non-contact physiological signal measurements without markers using the low-cost color camera. We introduce the constraint term guided by scene information into the original DeepPhys model to mitigate the overfitting problem of the original DeepPhys model. The results of validation experiments in ICU observation ward show that the modified DeepPhys model can effectively counteract the overfitting problem of the original DeepPhys model. The experimental results of PhysRate indicate that it exhibits certain performance improvements compared to other rate prediction models. In terms of system integration, the proposed physiological signal detection monitor includes Raspberry Pi 4B, RGB camera, 4G module, mobile power, and mobile terminal. With the help of above five modules, the system can analyze the captured signals at the edge and then transmit the processed data to the cloud via 4G network. The edge side is equipped with physiological signal detection model and the other data processing algorithms. On mobile devices, the users can view the relevant data through the developed Mini App. The PhysRate model code is available at https://github.com/ShawnTan86/PhysRate.

Audit of observation ward supporting emergency room at tertiary care hospital: Kathmandu, Nepal

Introduction: Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital is a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. In an average, 118 cases visit TUTH emergency per day. After initial management in Emergency, patients are either admitted in specialty departments or are observed in observation ward under Department of General Practice. Method: It was audit report carried out among the patients admitted to observational ward of TUTH. It included data of one month. Result: Total of 205 patients were admitted to observation ward, 16 (7.8%) were later on transferred in various other wards of hospital and 189 (92%)patients were admitted in the observation ward. The common admitting diagnosis was seen to be Dengue fever82(40%), followed by COPD 20(9.7%). Conclusion: For those patients presenting in emergency room, observation wards is better alternative for continuing medical care after getting emergency care.

Pharmacist tracking and correction of medication errors: An improvement project in the observation ward of the emergency department

The risk of medication errors is high in emergency departments. Implementation of medication reconciliation activity complemented by pharmaceutical analysis of prescription is an effective way to reduce drug related problems. This study aimed to assess the potential clinical impact of these activities to prevent medication errors for the observation ward patients. The secondary objective was to assess these activities' cost-avoidance and benefit-to-cost ratio. This study was conducted in a 16-bed unit, over a 5-month period. The patients' demographic and treatment details, and data from pharmaceutical activities were collected and analyzed by a pharmacist. Two pharmacists and an emergency physician assessed the potential clinical impact of medication errors. Medication reconciliation for 250 patients (15.7% of 1589 admitted patients) and pharmaceutical analysis of prescription for 302 patients (19%) were performed by the pharmacist. Medication reconciliation detected 752 errors in 197 patients; 19% were related to high-risk medications and 14% had a potential clinical impact assessed as major, critical or fatal. Pharmaceutical analysis of prescription revealed 159 drug related problems in 118 patients; of which 26% involved high-risk medications and 24% had a potential clinical impact assessed "at least major". In total, 16% of pharmacist interventions had a potential clinical impact assessed "at least major" in 33% of patients: this represents 1.8 pharmacist interventions formulated per day. The presence of a pharmacist in the observation ward of the emergency department is useful in detecting iatrogenic drug related problems and reducing their medical impact. The benefit-to-cost ratio is favorable for the hospital.

Role of General Practice Led Observation Ward to Support Emergency Ward to Improve Health Outcomes at a Major Kathmandu Hospital in Nepal

Introduction:Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) is a tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu. The emergency department sees between 130 to 140 cases per day. These patients get initial evaluation and basic investigation for acute emergency management and treatment. Those requiring further treatment are then admitted to the department of General Practice for post emergency care which acts as an observation ward. This step allows for the patients to be observed on a short-term basis and permits patient monitoring and/or treatment for an initial 24-48 hour period and up to a maximum of five days. These steps allow for focused follow up, improved efficiency and minimizes inappropriate admissions to other hospital inpatient wards. This paper evaluates functionality, admission criteria, patient categorization and subspeciality referral to specialty patient care, discharge criteria and cost effectiveness.Method:A descriptive observational study was carried out of the patients admitted to the observational ward between 2020-2021.Results:Most articles suggest these wards improve patient satisfaction and clinical care, decrease length of stay, reduce unnecessary inpatient hospital admissions and are useful in fever under evaluations, COPD, poisoning, pneumonia, mild head injuries, high sugar, hypertension, gastroenteritis etc. Around 14% of patients were sent to the observation ward after acute emergency care. 84% were discharged from observation ward with a mean stay of three days and were followed up in community care or GP OPD. Nine percent were admitted to hospital wards, and 7% transferred to yellow/red area emergencies for derange vitals.Conclusion:Observation wards seem to have advantages, excluding those who will inevitably need longer treatment, reduces cost savings and unnecessary burden of hospital admission.

Research on the Influence of Prevention Practice on Emergency Management Strategy in COVID-19

After the outbreak of COVID-19, patients with respiratory infectious diseases are facing a surge, and medical staff in non-respiratory, infectious, severe and other departments are not strong in differential diagnosis of infectious diseases, and protective measures are not in place, resulting in nosocomial infection. According to the influence of COVID-19's preventive practice on emergency management strategies, this paper analyzes and studies the response of Chinese mainland and Taiwan Province to COVID-19 respectively. The research shows that before the formal deployment of each link, Taiwan Province organizes experts to discuss collectively to form a unified opinion and then implement it. To guide the diagnosis and treatment of patients in fever clinic and isolated observation ward. At the same time, the responsibilities of each group are clear. By formulating the prevention and control process, it is ensured that the suspected patients will go to the fever clinic for treatment at the first time, and all examinations and treatments will be completed in the fever clinic area. On the premise of ensuring fire safety requirements, Chinese mainland took the lead in launching pre-examination and triage department for fever among medical institutions in the city. The specific method is to take the measure of "sealing the hospital", only keep the main entrance of the hospital gate as the only passage, and put the fever pre-examination and triage place located in the outpatient hall in the daily state in front of the main entrance and exit.

Impact of a high observation ward on seclusion and restraint episodes.

Impact of a high observation ward on seclusion and restraint episodes.

Improving care for older patients visiting emergency departments. Are they receiving falls prevention guideline care?

BackgroundThe primary objective was to examine whether the Emergency Department (ED) treatment of older adults who fall in Australia is concordant with falls prevention and management clinical guideline care recommendations. MethodsA retrospective medical records audit was completed for patients 65years and older, who attended the ED with a fall and were discharged home. An audit tool was developed from local, national, and international falls clinical guidelines. ResultsOne thousand and twenty-seven patients presented following a fall throughout 2020. One hundred and seven patient medical records were audited. Assessment of cognition (94%), medication review (76%) and use of a falls risk screen (76%) were commonly completed. Under half of the patients had a documented gait evaluation (40%) and review of vision (18%). Concordance with guideline care was more likely for older patients (p = 0.042), with higher levels of comorbidity (p = 0.013), who required care assistance (p = 0.008) and received treatment from a multidisciplinary team (p < 0.001) in an observation ward (p < 0.001). ConclusionsOlder patients with increased comorbidities and higher care needs had more falls guideline care recommendations documented. This was likely to occur when patients were moved to the observation ward where more comprehensive care by a multidisciplinary team could occur.

The profile of offenders accused of rape referred to the Observation Ward of the Free State Psychiatric Complex, Bloemfontein, South Africa, 2011-2015.

BackgroundSexual assault in South Africa has reached alarming proportions. Mental illness amongst offenders accused of rape is one of the complicating factors.AimTo describe the sociodemographic, clinical and forensic profile of alleged offenders accused of rape referred to a South African tertiary public psychiatric hospital for forensic evaluation, as well as describe the profile of the reported victims.SettingFree State Psychiatric Complex (FSPC) Observation Ward, Bloemfontein, South Africa.MethodsThis cross-sectional retrospective study compiled a sociodemographic, clinical and forensic profile of offenders accused of rape referred to the FSPC for forensic assessment between 2011 and 2015. The study population comprised 159 alleged offenders. Sociodemographic data, mental status, clinical diagnoses, comorbid substance use and forensic outcomes were collected from clinical files.ResultsAll accused offenders were male with a median age of 30 years. About half obtained primary school level education. Unemployment was common (37.3%) with 40% receiving government grants. Most accused offenders were single (78.0%). Clinically, schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders were the most common diagnoses (30.8%), followed by intellectual disability (16.3%). Almost a third of the accused offenders did not suffer from any mental illness. Alcohol (20.1%) and cannabis use disorders (12.6%) were dominant comorbidities. After a 30-day evaluation period, 53.2% of alleged offenders were found competent to stand trial. The verdict of criminal responsibility was made for 43.7% of this sample.ConclusionThis study contributes data on sociodemographics, psychiatric morbidities and comorbidities and forensic findings amongst alleged offenders of rape referred for forensic assessment.

Comparison between the Severity Scoring Systems A-DROP and CURB-65 for Predicting Safe Discharge from the Emergency Department in Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Background In most community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) treatment guidelines, the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) and CURB-65 are used as prognostic tools. Recently, simpler and more effective predictive tools for CAP treatment, such as the A-DROP scoring system, have been developed. However, no study has performed a comparative evaluation to identify the superior tool for predicting when patients can be discharged safely. Objectives To compare the performances of A-DROP and CURB-65, simple predictive tools for CAP, based on 30-day death rates and 72-hour revisit rates for CAP following discharge from the emergency department (ED). Method This single-center retrospective observational study enrolled patients who were at least 18 years old and diagnosed with CAP at the Songklanagarind Hospital ED from January 2015 to April 2021. Following a severity assessment using the A-DROP and CURB-65 scoring systems, the 30-day mortality rates and 72-hour revisit rates after discharge from the ED were compared. Results A total of 408 patients were enrolled in this study. Six (1.47%) died within 30 days after presentation, whereas 29 (7.1%) returned to the ED within 72 hours after discharge. Most patients (72%) who revisited the ED were over the age of 65 years. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the prediction of 30-day mortality were 0.756 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.526–0.987) and 0.808 (95% CI: 0.647–0.970) for A-DROP and CURB-65, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the prediction of 72-hour revisit were 0.617 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.507–0.728) and 0.639 (95% CI: 0.536–0.743) for A-DROP and CURB-65, respectively. Conclusion A-DROP and CURB-65 yield similar results and can be used to assess low-risk patients with CAP for discharge from the ED. Older patients, even those with low-risk scores, should be particularly considered for admission to a short-term observation unit or ward.

Early clinical and CT features of COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia from a fever observation ward in Ningbo, China.

We aimed to compare the early clinical manifestations, laboratory results and chest computed tomography (CT) images of COVID-19 patients with those of other community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients to differentiate CAP from COVID-19 before reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results are obtained. The clinical and laboratory data and chest CT images of 51 patients were assessed in a fever observation ward for evidence of COVID-19 between January and February 2020. 24 patients had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, whereas 27 individuals had negative results. No statistical difference in clinical features was found between COVID-19 and CAP patients, except for diarrhoea. There was a significant difference in lymphocyte and eosinophil counts between COVID-19 and CAP patients. In total, 22 (91.67%) COVID-19 patients had bilateral involvement and multiple lesions according to their lung CT images; the left lower lobe (87.50%) and right lower lobe (95.83%) were affected most often, and all lesions were located in the peripheral zones of the lung. The most common CT feature of COVID-19 was ground-glass opacity, found in 95.83% of patients, compared to 66.67% of CAP patients. Diarrhoea, lymphocyte counts, eosinophil counts and CT findings (e.g. ground-glass opacity) could help to distinguish COVID-19 from CAP at an early stage of infection, based on findings from our fever observation ward.

Research on obstetric ward planning combining lean thinking and mixed-integer programming.

In recent years, there are many studies on scheduling methods of patient flow, nurse scheduling, bed allocation, operating room scheduling and other problems, but there is no report on the research methods of how to plan ward allocation from a more macroscopic perspective. Refine and stratify the obstetric ward to provide more accurate medical service for pregnant women and improve the work efficiency of obstetricians and midwives. The problem of how to allocate the number of each type of ward is modeled as a mixed integer programming problem, which maximizes the patient flow of pregnant women in obstetric hospitals. The obstetric wards are divided into observation ward, cesarean section ward and natural delivery ward according to lean thinking. CPLEX is used to solve the mixed-integer programming problem of ward allocation. In R software, multivariate Generalized Linear Models (GLM) regression model is used to analyze the influence of each factor on patient flow. The maximum patient flow of each case was obtained by CPLEX, which was 19-25% higher than that of patients without refinement, stratification and planning. GLM regression analysis was carried out on the abovementioned data, and the positive and negative correlation factors were obtained. According to lean thinking, obstetric wards are divided into three types of wards. Obstetricians and midwives work more efficiently and get more rest time. Pregnant women also enjoy more detailed medical services. By modeling the delivery ward allocation problem as a mixed-integer programming problem, we can improve the capacity of the service in obstetric hospitals from a macro perspective. Through GLM regression model analysis, it is conducive to improve the obstetric hospital capacity from the perspective of positive and negative correlation factors.

Appropriateness of referrals to Whiston hospital Mental Health Liaison Services

Aims1. The aim of this study was to assess the appropriateness of referrals to Whiston Mental Health Liaison Services (WMHLS) according to Royal College of Psychiatrists and local trust guidelines.2. To assess whether the referrals were being reviewed in timely manner as per the trust's guidelines.MethodData collection was completed using a proforma to ensure uniform data collection. The proforma included information on patient demographics, previous mental health service involvement, other details like reasons and time of referral and their outcomes. Data sample comprised of 46 patients who had been referred to the WMHLS in the month of August 2019 were randomly selected.Result44 of the 46 referrals analyzed were found to be appropriate. 40 patients were deemed to have appropriate documentation. The ratio of males to females was 20:26. 21 referrals were from the observation ward, 14 from A&amp;E, and 11 from medical wards. 40 patients were previously known to mental health services. The reasons for referral ranged from suicidal ideation/attempt (48%), Drug related (12%), Assessment (7%) and more. There were various outcomes recorded. One of them was that 18 (28%) referrals were assessed for Depression and for other mental health problems.78.6% of patients referred from A&amp;E, and 95.2% of patients in the observation ward, were not seen in the 1 hour window set out by the Trust's guidelines. 91.1% of patients referred from the wards were seen within the 24 hour target.ConclusionThe vast majority of referrals were found to be appropriate (44/46). It was found that the referral form used across the Trust, contained different levels of details and information on the patient depending on the source of referral. Using a standard process to complete referral forms to be used across the whole trust may ensure that all patients receive a standardized and appropriate referral based on the guidelines. Making the form electronic may reduce problems deciphering handwriting, and could allow WMHLS have a better understanding of the patient, and allow them to identify a patient that may be more appropriate for another service, e.g. drugs and alcohol team. This may and make the overall referral process quicker and reduce waiting times in A&amp;E, as well as faster referrals to the appropriate services.

Impact of the COVID-19 on Cancer Management at Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Nepal

Background: Coronavirus disease which has become a pandemic has also impacted cancer service to a small country like Nepal which has very low resources.&#x0D; Aims and Objectives: Covid infection itself and the lockdown implemented by the government resulted negative impact in our cancer management. Hence the aim of the study was to delineate the impact of Covid in cancer management.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: We did a prospective descriptive study from 1st March 2020 till 1st August 2020 in our medical oncology department at Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital (BMCTH).&#x0D; Results: We had 60% reduction in the newly diagnosed cases, 40% decrement in the chemotherapy admissions and total fourteen mortalities. PCR test was advised for all the COVID suspects with features of fever and separate observation ward was started for such patients. Delayed in the cancer diagnosis and treatment could result in increase in the advanced cancer burden which can overwhelm the health service in Nepal.&#x0D; Conclusion: COVID 19 had negative impact on cancer treatment and management at our institution.

Pandemic-related emergency psychiatric presentations for self-harm of children and adolescents in 10 countries (PREP-kids): a retrospective international cohort study

To examine the differences in hospital emergency psychiatric presentations for self-harm of children and adolescents during the covid-19 lockdown in March and April 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. Retrospective cohort study. We used electronic patient records from 23 hospital emergency departments in ten countries grouped into 14 areas. We examined data on 2073 acute hospital presentations by 1795 unique children and adolescents through age 18. We examined the total number of emergency psychiatric hospital presentations and the proportion of children and adolescents presenting with severe self-harm as our two main outcome measures. In addition, we examined sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and clinical management variables for those presenting with self-harm. To compare the number of hospital presentations between 2020 and 2019 a negative binomial model was used. For other variables, individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses were carried out. Emergency psychiatric hospital presentations decreased from 1239 in 2019 to 834 in 2020, incident rate ratio 0.67, 95% CI 0.62–0.73; p < 0.001. The proportion of children and adolescents presenting with self-harm increased from 50% in 2019 to 57% in 2020, odds ratio 1.33, 1.07–1.64; p = 0.009 but there was no difference in the proportion presenting with severe self-harm. Within the subpopulation presenting with self-harm the proportion of children and adolescents presenting with emotional disorders increased from 58 to 66%, odds ratio 1.58, 1.06–2.36; p = 0.025. The proportion of children and adolescents admitted to an observation ward also decreased from 13 to 9% in 2020, odds ratio 0.52, 0.28–0.96; p = 0.036. Service planners should consider that, during a lockdown, there are likely to be fewer emergency psychiatric presentations. Many children and adolescents with psychiatric emergencies might not receive any service. A focus on developing intensive community care services with outreach capabilities should be prioritised.

Infected hip prosthesis in patient with suspected Covid-19 infection

BackgroundInfections following arthroplasty are one of the major risks during this type of surgery. Moreover, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus Disease 2), has developed into an unprecedented pandemic, posing enormous pressure on health-care providers around the world.Case presentationFour and half years after right hip arthroplasty, the patient came back to our attention with pain at the same hip. The instrumental examinations showed signs of cup detachment. After carefully analyzing the case, we decided to perform a sterile aspiration of the hip in the operating room under C-arm fluoroscopy. Microbiological examinations showed positivity for E. coli. The patient underwent surgery by which the prosthesis was removed and a spacer was implanted. A therapy with Cefotaxim 2 g three times a day for 6 weeks was then set, and then a total arthroplasty was performed. During this period, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and therefore the patient received nasal-throat swabbing two times, and both yielded negative results. However, 1 week after the final surgery, his respiratory conditions deteriorated and chest X-ray and CT scan showed images of ground-glass opacification patterns (GGO). Due to the clinical symptoms and the characteristic images of the instrumental examinations, the patient was transferred to an observation ward. Thereafter, two more swab tests gave negative results. The patient was then transferred to the ward for patients with typical symptoms of COVID-19 but with negative swab tests for 2 weeks and was subsequently discharged home.ConclusionThe purpose of this case report was to point out the correct treatment of a PJI after the outbreak of COVID-19. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the guidelines in the case of periprosthetic hip infection further confirmed the correct management of the patient.

Associated Factors with Prolonged Stay in Pediatric Observation Ward of Urban University Hospital in Thailand

Background: Pediatric observation ward (OW) is the area where the patient can be monitored or have early investigation/management and observe part of emergency department (ED); patients are admitted to this area with an expectation of discharge within 24 hours. Observation ward was beneficial in preventing avoidable hospitalizations, due to the high volume of patients in ED, OW increasing demands, overcrowding, and prolonged stay. Objective: This study aimed to examine the characteristics and factors associated with prolonged length of stay (LOS) more than 24 hours in the pediatric observation ward. General demographic data were recorded including age, sex, LOS, diagnosis and disposition. Results: This is a retrospective study of children 15 years old or younger who admit to Pediatric OW at urban university hospital and prolonged stay more than 24 hours during January 2014 to June 2015. There were 670 patients admitted at OW during the study period (median age of 5 years; 53% were male). Mean length of stay in OW was 61 hours. The most common top 5 diagnoses were respiratory problem (32%), gastrointestinal problem (29%), infectious disease (11%), neurological (7%), and dental problem (6%). The majority of patients were discharge home 602/670 cases (90%), and 10% (68/670 cases) were admitted to inpatient ward. There were 552 patients (82%) who had prolonged OW more than 24 hours. Compared with the factors in both group, we found that the associated factor for prolonged OW stay was the age of patient, which seems to be younger in the prolonged stay group (median age of 4 years 3 months vs 3 years 5 months, p = 0.04). Younger children had significant factors for prolonged stay in OW (p < 0.001) compared to all age categorized less than 1 year, 1 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, 10 - 15 years and more than 15 years respectively. Conclusion: This was the study for report of pediatric observation ward utilization. The younger patient was the associated factor for prolonged stay in OW. Understanding this related issue will be the starting points for assessing patients carefully before admitting to OW for improving efficiency and quality of care in pediatric OW.

Experience with the dexmedetomidine for sedation in pediatric neurosurgery in the early postoperative period

Objective ‒ to maintain the adequate sedation and analgesia without respiratory depression in children up to 4 years old with spinal cord pathology in early postoperative period (first 3 days) in inpatient department; to decrease digestive system motor function depression; to exclude aspiration possibility; to start early children’s natural feeding in postoperative period.Materials and methods. From October 2019 to January 2020 dexmedetomidine sedation was performed by the prolonged infusion administration to 10 children (6 children aged 6 month to 1 year and 4 children up to 4 years) with spinal cord and vertebral pathology (spina bifida, meningomyelocele, myelocele, teratoma, lipoma of lumbar spine) in early postoperative period at intensive observation ward of neurosurgical department. During the first three days after the surgery and dexmedetomidine prescription the vital functions monitoring was being performed for 24 hours. Arterial blood pressure, heart rate, blood saturation have been scheduled by one of the parents. The immediate access to oxygen and parent’s permission for using this sedation method were the obligatory requirements.Results. The appropriate sedation target was achieved after the dexmedetomidine prescription for the children with the spinal cord and vertebral pathology in early postoperative period at intensive observation ward of neurosurgical department; the dosage of opioid analgesics was successfully decreased by 50 %. The respiratory depression was not observed. The blood pressure and bradycardia were not haemodynamically significant. Swallowing reflex was saved, which led to early physiological nutrition and excluded aspiration risk. The following transfer of patients after the surgery to the neurosurgical department bypassing ICU reduced the financial expenditure of the hospital.Conclusions. Dexmedetomidine provides with the adequate sedation in early postoperative period and can be recommended for the usage in children with the spinal cord and vertebral pathology as the safest medication due to minimal cardio-respiratory complications during moderately prolonged prescribed period.

Pandemic-Related Emergency Psychiatric Presentations for Self-Harm of Children and Adolescents in 10 Countries (PREP-Kids): A Retrospective International Cohort Study

Background: Suicide is the second leading cause on death in young people and self-harm is one of the strongest predictors of death by suicide. Little is known about the impact of covid-19 lockdown on hospital presentations with self-harm.Method: We used electronic patient records from 23 hospital emergency departments in 10 countries to examine differences in hospital emergency psychiatric presentations for self-harm of youths through age 18 in March and April 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. To compare the number of hospital presentations a negative binomial model was used. For other variables, individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses were carried out.Findings: The total number of emergency psychiatric hospital presentations decreased from 1,239 in 2019 to 834 in 2020, IRR 0·67, 95% CI 0·62-0·73. The proportion of youths presenting with self-harm increased from 50% in 2019 to 57% in 2020, OR 1·33, 95% CI 1·07-1·64, but there was no difference in the proportion presenting with severe self-harm. Within self-harm presentations, the proportion of youths with emotional disorders increased from 58% to 66%, OR 1·58, 95% CI 1·06-2·36. The proportion of youths admitted to an observation ward also decreased from 13% to 9% in 2020, OR 0·52, 95% CI 0·28 to 0·96. There were no differences in other outcomes and no evidence that youths from deprived areas or from ethnic minorities were disproportionally affected.Interpretation: During lockdowns, there are likely to be fewer hospital emergency psychiatric presentations. Many children and adolescents with psychiatric emergencies might not receive any service. Developing intensive community care services with outreach capabilities should be prioritised.Funding Statement: None.Declaration of Interests: In the last three years Dr. Carucci had collaborations within projects from the European Union (7th Framework Program) and as sub-investigator in sponsored clinical trials by Shire Pharmaceutical Company, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Janssen Cilag and Angelini. Travel support from Fidia Farmaceutici. PLP has received research funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical devices (BfARM), the Baden Wuerttemberg state foundation, eh Volkswagen foundation, Lundbeck and Servier. He received a speaker´s honorarium from Shire. All remaining authors have no competing interests to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: This study is based on the data from the NCDR obtained under licence from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The study was approved by the King’s College London/South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust service evaluation and clinical audit committee Ref no: AP1312/05/2020.