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Biomedical subjects

T F Beattie

Publications and source records attributed to T F Beattie.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

How do blood cultures sent from a paediatric accident and emergency department influence subsequent clinical management?

OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical impact of positive results from blood cultures sent from a busy paediatric accident and emergency department. METHODS: All children who attended the department over a seven month period and had blood culture investigations were identified. Case notes of patients who had any growth on blood culture were reviewed to determine whether the organism was felt to be pathogenic and how the result affected clinical management. RESULTS: 1159 children had blood cultures sent, 26 of these grew an organism that was felt to be pathogenic. However, only five significantly influenced clinical management. CONCLUSIONS: Blood cultures sent from an accident and emergency department rarely influence clinical management. A more focused approach to bacteriological investigation is recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Use of analgesia in a paediatric accident and emergency department following limb trauma.

The objective of this study was to assess analgesic use and the use of a pain scoring system on those children presenting to a paediatric accident and emergency (A&E) department with a history of injury due to trauma. A random sample of patients who presented to a paediatric A&E department over a 6-week period with a history of limb trauma were prospectively studied. Pain severity scores were assessed on arrival and at 10, 30 and 60 minutes using the Douhit Faces Scale and any analgesia given or plaster application was noted. One hundred and seventy-two patients were studied. The median age was 10 years (range 3-13 years) and the majority, 56%, were male. The mean initial pain scores were 2.7 (range 1-4) for boys and 3.0 (range 1-4) for girls. The presenting injuries were 103 upper or lower limb fractures and 69 'soft tissue' injuries. Only 84 (49%) patients received analgesic medication in the department (30% morphine; 70% paracetamol); analgesia was not given to the remaining 88 (51%). Of these, 7 declined analgesia, and 5 had already taken analgesia on arrival to A&E. Despite prompt triage (median time 2 minutes, range 0-10 minutes), the median time from arrival to paracetamol administration was 20 minutes (range 4-105 minutes) and for morphine was 14 minutes (range 2-57 minutes). Pain is a common symptom in patients presenting to A&E. Because children's pain can be particularly difficult to assess, a pain scoring system such as the Douhit Faces Scale can be a useful means of pain assessment in the A&E setting. Despite increased awareness, pain is still under treated in the A&E department.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Transient synovitis: is there a need to aspirate hip joint effusions?

There is debate as to the optimal management of children with hip joint effusions especially regarding the decision to aspirate. The objective of this study was to determine whether there is a need to aspirate hip joint effusions detected on ultrasound in patients with clinical transient synovitis (TS) and to identify the natural history of these effusions. Twenty-five children with proven hip joint effusions were followed up sequentially by clinical and radiological examination until symptom free. The mean age was 6 years with equal right/left distribution. No child underwent hip aspiration and no cases of sepsis were missed. The median size of hip effusion detected on ultrasound at presentation was 9 mm. At 7 days 60% (15/25) of patients had a normal clinical examination with no detectable effusion on ultrasound. At 14 days 16% (4/25) had an effusion detectable on ultrasound but they were all pain and limp free and their effusions were reducing in size. These results support the known benign nature of TS and that it will settle with conservative treatment.

Child↗
PubMed2002

Emergency analgesia in the paediatric population. Part I: current practice and perspectives.

Children frequently present to the accident and emergency (A&E) department in pain. Most presentations are acute, but children with pain of longer duration also present. Children also often undergo painful procedures in A&E in the process of diagnosis or treatment. These papers review recent literature to examine factors involved in the provision of emergency analgesia in the paediatric population. This will include a discussion of current practice and make recommendations for future management of children's pain and anxiety in the A&E department. Part I: Current practice and perspectives. Part II: Pharmacological methods of paediatric analgesia. Part III: Non-pharmacological methods of pain control and anxiolysis. Part IV: Paediatric sedation in accident and emergency.

Analgesia↗
PubMed2001

Comparison of oral and intravenous morphine following acute injury in children.

The objective of this research was to examine the speed of onset and effectiveness of pain relief between oral and intravenous morphine in acutely injured children. An observational study of children aged 3 to 13 years with closed forearm fractures was performed in three accident and emergency departments. The study gathered information on age, gender, body weight, time of arrival, dose, route and time of morphine administration. Pain assessment using a Faces Scale was documented on arrival and repeated at 10, 30 and 60 minutes after morphine was given. Forty-seven children were studied. Of these, 25 were given intravenous morphine, 22 were given oral morphine. There was no statistically significant difference in age, body weight or time until morphine was administered. The change in median pain scores was analysed using the Mann-Whitney U test. This showed that there was a statistically significant reduction in pain score in the intravenous group compared with the oral group between arrival and 10 minutes after giving morphine and between arrival and 60 minutes after giving morphine. Intravenous morphine appears to give more rapid onset and more prolonged pain relief than oral morphine for children with acute injuries. We recommend that in accident and emergency departments where staff are experienced in paediatric cannulation, morphine should be given via the intravenous route in acutely injured children. However we do not advocate inexperienced staff attempting multiple venepunctures in a child resulting in increased anxiety.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2001

Magnetic resonance imaging as the primary imaging modality in children presenting with acute non-traumatic hip pain.

The role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children presenting with acute non-traumatic hip pain was evaluated prospectively. Hip MRI was performed in addition to standard investigations (arthrosonography +/- hip radiographs) in 50 children presenting to the accident and emergency department of a paediatric hospital. MRI was performed on an open 0.23T system and comprised gradient echo T1 weighted coronal, fast spin echo T2 weighted coronal and inversion recovery spin echo (IRSE) axial sequences. Diagnostic quality MRI examinations were obtained in 94% of children. The IRSE sequence was the most reliable at determining underlying disorder (p<0.002). Interobserver agreement on the MRI examinations was very good with unweighted kappa value of 0.89, 95% confidence intervals 0.79, 0.99. Sensitivity of MRI was 0.79 (0.68, 0.90, specificity 1.00 (0.89, 1.00), accuracy 0.81 (0.70, 0.92), PPV 1.00 (0.89, 1), NPV 0.36 (0.25, 0.47). Sensitivity of standard imaging was 0.70 (0.54-0.86), specificity 0.57 (0.41, 0.73), accuracy 0.72 (0.56, 0.88), PPV 0.91 (0.75, 1.00), NPV 0.24 (0.08, 0.40). MRI correctly identified all seven children with serious underlying disorder whereas conventional imaging correctly diagnosed only two. Pelvic musculoskeletal infection was associated with the combination of marked alteration in signal in tissues adjacent to a symptomatic hip and an erythrocyte sedimentation rate of >20 mm 1st h (p<0.0001). In conclusion, MRI is a practical, well accepted and accurate non-invasive imaging technique in children presenting with acute non-traumatic hip pain. Combined with inflammatory markers MRI can be used to determine those children who require aggressive management. Where it is available, MRI is the imaging modality of choice in this condition.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The association between deprivation levels, attendance rate and triage category of children attending a children's accident and emergency department.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relation between deprivation category, triage score and accident and emergency (A&E) attendance for children under the age of 13. DESIGN: Retrospective study of all children attending an A&E department over one year. SETTING: A paediatric teaching hospital in Edinburgh. SUBJECTS: All children attending the A&E department who had a postcode and a triage score documented on attendance. The postcode was used to determine the deprivation category and the triage scored the severity of illness or injury. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The relation between deprivation category, triage score and frequency of attendance. RESULTS: There is a trend towards increased attendance in all triage categories for deprivation categories 6 and 7. CONCLUSIONS: Attendance at A&E is not only related to severity of injury but also to deprivation category. The reason why people from disadvantaged areas attend more frequently needs further evaluation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Why do children vomit after minor head injury?

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors associated with vomiting after minor head injury in a paediatric population with the intention of defining the role of vomiting in management decisions. METHODS: A prospective study of all patients presenting with minor head injury to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, between 1 May and 30 June 1997. Information regarding basic demographics, features of the head injury and past and family history was noted on a proforma. This included mechanism of injury, site of impact, presence or absence of scalp haematoma, skull fracture or brain injury and intrinsic factors such as age, family history of migraine and a personal history of migraine, its childhood variants and associated conditions. The relation between vomiting and these features was analysed using chi2 and Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: 563 children aged from birth to 13 years presented with minor head injury. Complete data were obtained on 463 patients. Some 15.8% vomited after minor head injury. Comparing vomiters with non-vomiters the only associated factors that could be identified were a past history of recurrent vomiting or motion sickness (p= 0.0035, p=0.036 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Vomiting after minor head injury seems to be related to individual intrinsic factors rather than specific features of the head injury and its role in management decisions needs to be explored further.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Presenting features of paediatric meningococcal disease--a five year experience from a paediatric accident and emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical features, initial management and outcome of meningococcal disease presenting to a paediatric accident and emergency (A&E) department. DESIGN: A retrospective study of all cases of meningococcal disease seen in the department over a five year period. SETTING: A paediatric A&E department which treats approximately 30,000 patients a year. SUBJECTS: All children under the age of 13 years with a discharge diagnosis of meningococcal disease RESULTS: Fifty patients, forty-six with microbiological confirmation of their diagnosis were identified. Sixty six percent of patients were seen first by their general practitioner. However only 28% had received prehospital parenteral antibiotics. Twenty six percent of children had neither meningism nor a classical purpuric rash, 60% showed signs of shock and 66% had an altered conscious level. The case fatality rate was 4%, with 78% making a full recovery. CONCLUSION: Classical features of meningococcal disease are often absent. Assessing simple clinical parameters such as capillary refill, respiratory rate and conscious level adds to the detection of the disease. If meningococcal disease is suspected parental benzylpenicillin should be given and the child transferred to hospital.

Child↗
PubMed1999

Under representation of morbidity from paediatric bicycle accidents by official statistics--a need for data collection in the accident and emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the accuracy of currently available data on bicycle related injuries in children. SETTING: A paediatric accident and emergency (A&E) department which annually treats approximately 30000 new patients under the age of 13 years. METHODS: Data on all attendances with bicycle related injuries over a four week period were compared with that currently available from police road traffic accident data (Stats 19) and the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, hospital discharge coding. RESULTS: Eighty six children attended the A&E department. Only two bicycle related injuries were identified from Stats 19, and 10 from hospital discharge data. CONCLUSION: Currently available official data do not give an accurate representation of the incidence of bicycle related injuries in children. If health promotion measures are to be assessed properly data collection needs to be improved.

Bicycling↗
PubMed1999

The limping child: epidemiology, assessment and outcome.

We investigated the epidemiology, assessment and outcome of acute atraumatic limp in 243 children under the age of 14 years presenting to a paediatric accident and emergency department (AED) over a period of six months. Data were collected at presentation and medical notes were re-examined after 18 to 21 months. The incidence of limp was 1.8 per thousand. The male:female ratio was 1.7:1 and the median age 4.35 years. Limp was mainly right-sided (54%) and painful (80%); 33.7% of the children had localised pain in the hip. A preceding illness was found in 40%. The main diagnosis was 'irritable hip'/transient synovitis (39.5%); Perthes' disease accounted for 2%. Most patients (77%) were managed entirely in the AED. Acute atraumatic limp is a common problem in children presenting to the AED. Most can be safely managed there if guidelines are followed and will have a benign outcome. Further studies are needed to identify the role of preceding illness in the aetiology of acute atraumatic limp.

Acute Disease↗