Cases in Paediatric Critical Care Transfer and Retrieval Medicine

Critically ill paediatric transfers have expanded rapidly over the past ten years and, as such, the need for transfer teams to recognise, understand and treat the various illnesses that they encounter is greater than ever. This highly illustrated book covers a multitude of clinical presentations in a case-based format to allow an authentic feel to the transfer process. Written by clinicians with experience in thousands of transfers, it brings together many years of experience from a world-renowned hospital. Following the case from initial presentation, to resuscitation and referral and finally with the transfer itself; the book explores the clinical stabilisation, human factors decisions and logistical challenges that are encountered every day by these teams. Following the entire journey, this is an ideal resource for all professionals who may be involved in critical care transfer and retrieval medicine, particularly those working in paediatrics, emergency medicine, anaesthesiology, intensive care, or pre-hospital settings.

EP.TH.919Developing A Fast Track Paediatric Herniotomy Service In A District General Hospital

Introduction Previously to 2011, babies presented as emergency to our Trust with irreducible inguinal hernia at a rate of 1 baby/year. They were referred to our regional tertiary centre for surgery because there is no out of hours Paediatric Surgeon or Anaesthetist. Usually, patients were either, awaiting an appointment to see surgeon or on an 18-week waiting list. The aims of this SIP were to: expedite elective surgery for paediatric inguinal hernias, and prevent emergency paediatric inguinal hernia referrals to our tertiary centre. Method Referrals to paediatric surgical clinics were triaged by the clinic sister. Hernia referrals were expedited to the next available clinic. A provisional date for surgery was arranged ASAP with an identified surgeon and anaesthetist whilst in clinic. Patient demographics and data collected retrospectively. Results A 73% reduction in waiting time for surgery, 1 baby (1.4%) presented as emergency and was referred to our tertiary centre for surgery, the post-op complication rate fell from 6.5% to 0%. Conclusion The success of the fast-track paediatric herniotomy service at our DGH shows that it is possible to provide timely and safe surgery in a DGH in line with the recommendations of the Paediatric Critical Care and Surgery in Children Review (November 2019).

Training Needs Assessment for Practicing Paediatric Critical Care Nurses in Malawi To Inform The Development of A Specialized Master’s Education Pathway: A Cohort Study

Background Significant improvements in under-five mortality in Malawi have been demonstrated over the past thirty years; however, Malawian healthcare remains with gaps in availability and access to quality paediatric critical care nursing training and education. To improve expertise of paediatric critical care nurses in Malawi, Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN), Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), and Mercy James Center (MJC) entered a partnership with Seed Global Health, a US non-governmental organization. A needs assessment was conducted to understand the training needs of nurses currently working in paediatric critical care and in preparation for the development of a specialized Master’s in Child Health pathway in Paediatric Critical Care (PCC) Nursing at KCN. Methods The needs assessment was completed using a survey questionnaire formatted using an ABCDE (Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, and Exposure) framework. The questionnaire had Likert scale and yes/no questions. Data was manually entered into excel and was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results One hundred and fifty-three nurses at QECH and MJC responded to the survey. Most nurses were between the ages of 25 and 35 years (N = 98, 64%), female (N = 105, 69%), and held either a Bachelors (N = 72, 47%) or diploma (N = 70, 46%) in nursing. Nurses had high rates of confidence in certain skills: airway management (N = 120, 99%), breathing assessment & management (N = 153, 100%). However, nurses demonstrated little to no confidence in areas such as: mechanical ventilation (N = 68, 44%), ECG evaluation (N = 74, 48%), and arterial blood gas collection & interpretation (N = 49, 32%). Conclusion It is important to identify priority areas for training and skills development to address in the PCC master’s within the child health pathway at KCN. Ideally this partnership will produce practice-ready PCC nurses and will establish a recognized PCC nursing workforce in Malawi.

Erratum 1

Raman S, Brown G, Long D, et al; the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Paediatric Study Group (ANZICS PSG). Priorities for paediatric critical care research: a modified Delphi study by the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Paediatric Study Group. Crit Care Resusc 2021; 23: 194-201. In this article, on page 200, the Acknowledgements section should read: “We thank Mark Peters, University College London, UK, for sharing his expertise at the Hanlon stage of this exercise. The data team within the Paediatric Critical Care Research Group, Brisbane, Australia helped with the surveys and analyses of the data. We thank Kate Masterson, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, and all staff from PICUs in Australia and New Zealand and the ANZICS PSG Committee who participated in this study. We acknowledge the local research coordinators and research staff, who assisted with study distribution, promotion and the prioritisation process.”

Evaluation of Paediatric Critical Care Needs and Practice in Nigeria: Paediatric Residents’ Perspective

Background. There is a dire need for paediatric critical care (PCC) services, but their availability in tertiary hospitals in Nigeria is not well defined. Objective. We evaluated self-reported PCC practice, resources, and perceived challenges in various zones of the country, using paediatric residents’ perspective. Methods. This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey, carried out at an Intensive Course in Paediatrics at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Participants’ PCC practice and perceived adequacy of PCC resources and services were assessed using a 100 mm uncalibrated visual analogue scale (VAS). A comparison between northern and southern zones was done. A 2-sided p value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results. A total of 143 residents participated in the study, 37.1% of them were male, and 62.9% were female. Their mean age was 34.6 ± 3.2 years. They were mainly (86.7%) from federal institutions across the country. Less than a half (46.7%) of the trainees attended to critically ill children daily, but only 4 out of every 10 respondents stated that such severely ill children survived till hospital discharge; 12.1% of the trainees had PICUs in their institutions. Financial constraints hindered PICU admissions. PCC staff were relatively fewer in northern zones than southern zones ( p < 0.05 ). Their perceived adequacy of PCC equipment and services were low (VAS scores 32.7 ± 2.6 and 30.9 ± 2.8, respectively) with a strong positive correlation between the two measurements (r = 0.839; p < 0.001 ). Conclusion. There is an unmet need for PCC practice in Nigerian tertiary hospitals with a resultant low survival rate of critically ill children. PCC training curricula and improved critical care resources are desirable in the setting.