Paediatric Pearls

Do you know your valgus from your varus?  Or your myclonic epilepsy from your sleep myoclonus?  A link this month to new asthma patient information leaflets and some reminders of NICE’s “Do not do recommendations” in feverish children.  Also the BSACI egg allergy guideline.  Do leave comments on any of these topics below.

This month’s emergency department version of Paediatric Pearls has information on dehydration from the NICE guideline on gastroenteritis in the under 5s, a bit on seizures and the evidence behind our reluctance to let you request chest x-rays for children.  I’ve featured the NICE guideline on antibiotics for respiratory illness in primary care too as they are also relevant for the children we see in EUCC and the Emergency Department.  I hope you find it helpful; I think the average length of time for each infection is useful information to be able to hand on to parents.  Download December’s Paediatric Pearls here.

September brings us tinea capitis, epilepsy and a reminder that antibiotics are not generally indicated for children presenting with wheeze.  Please do send in your comments, requests and questions.  Download the September edition here.

The emergency department version of September’s Paediatric Pearls reminds us of the NICE guideline for antipyretic use, the 2004 guideline on the epilepsies and the current recommendations from the British Association of Dermatologists on management of tinea capitis.  Download it here. 

(Taken from the July Emergency Department edition of Paediatric Pearls)

‘A febrile seizure usually occurs between 3 months and 5 years of age, associated with fever but without evidence of intracranial infection or defined cause for the seizure’. NIH, USA
Most febrile seizures are generalised tonic clonic (GTCS), but fever can provoke other types of fits. Continue reading ‘Should I be worried about a child with a febrile convulsion?’ »