Emergency Medicine

The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine is privileged to be one leading site of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). PECARN is the first federally-funded multi-institutional network for research in pediatric emergency medicine. The goal of this network is to conduct meaningful and rigorous multi-institutional research into the prevention and management of acute illnesses and injuries in children and youth across the continuum of emergency medicine health care. PECARN provides the leadership and infrastructure needed to promote multi-center studies, support research collaboration among EMSC investigators, and encourage informational exchanges between EMSC investigators and providers

Researchers within the division are presently involved in the following PECARN studies:

1. The effectiveness of oral dexamethasone for acute bronchiolitis: A multicenter randomized controlled trial.
2. The use of Lorazepam for the treatment of pediatric status epilepticus
3. Childhood Head Trauma: A Neuroimaging Decision Rule
4. Predicting cervical spine injury in children: A multi- centered case-control analysis
5. Multicenter emergency department study to assess the risk of intracranial abnormalities, interrater reliability of clinical findings, and management patterns for children with first apparently unprovoked seizures

In addition to our collaboration with the PECARN network, researchers within the division are also involved in conducting the following studies:

1. Prospective study of the three view abdominal radiograph series in the diagnosis of intussusception
2. Assessment of caregiver stress and burden due to patient disposition: Development of patient- based endpoints
3. Psychiatric diagnoses in children presenting to the ED with chest pain without clear medical etiology
4. Pilot study to determine the feasibility and potential utility of ultrasound for the detection of peripheral veins and insertion of intravenous catheters in children who present to the Emergency Department
5. Computer aided learning of radiology: Interpretation in clinical settings
6. The feasibility and safety of acupuncture treatment with vitamin K for primary dysmenorrhea: an uncontrolled pilot study
7. The Efficacy of Outpatient Nebulized Ipratropium Bromide in the Management of Children Discharged from the Emergency Department with Asthma: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Our faculty are also actively involved in several independent multicenter endeavors and some via the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative Research Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. These include:

1. Clinical decision rule to differentiate viral and bacterial meningitis
2. Clinical course and risk factors associated with adverse outcomes and bacteremia in infants 28-60 days of life with UTIs
3. Clinical decision rule to diagnose intussusception
4. A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind Study Comparing the Clinical Effects of Intravenous Montelukast with Placebo in Pedatric Patients with Acute Asthma