11/16- Pediatric ER Procedures Flashcards
(52 cards)
Case 1)
- A 13 y/o boy caught his finger in a door
- On exam, bone is exposed, and plastics has been called
What do you do?
Some kind of anesthesia for his pain
What are the different types of anesthesia?
- Topical
- Direct infiltration: injection directly into tissue
- Parallel margin infiltration (field block)
- Injection into adjacent tracts parallel to the wound edge : interrupts nerve conduction (site -> CNS)
- Nerve blocks
- IV/IM/PO pain meds
- Moderate sedation/general anesthesia
What is the most commonly used type of anesthesia?
Direct infiltration: injection directly into tissue
What are types of local anesthetics?
- Aminoesters (procaine, cocaine, chloroprocaine, tetracaine)
- Aminoamides (lidocaine, bupivicaine, prilocaine, mepivacaine, etidocaine)
-
Topical forms of lidocaine:
- LET (lidocaine, epinephrine, tetracaine)
- EMLA (eutectic mixture of local anesthetics: lidocaine and prilocaine)
- ELA-Max (lidocaine)
- Ethyl chloride vapocoolant spray
What are indications for local anesthesia of the following types:
- Direct wound infiltration
- Field block
- Topical anesthetics
Direct wound infiltration
- Most wounds and lacerations
Field block
- Areas of inflammation (abscesses) or gross contamination
- Preserved wound architecture desired
Topical anesthetics
- Prior to wound infiltration (LET)
- Prior to LP (EMLA, ELA-Max)
- Prior to vein cannulation
What are contraindications to local anesthesia?
- Bupivacaine: age under 12 years
- Epinephrine and LET: avoid the “nose, ‘hose’, ears, and toes”
- EMLA: skin not intact
- All topicals: avoid the eyes
What are complications for local anesthesia?
- Nervous system toxicity
- Irreversible heart block (bupivacaine)
- Arrhythmia
- Allergic reactions (rare)
- Tissue injury with injection (nerve, ischemia from epi or compartment syndrome)
- Infection
- Bleeding
- Methemoglobinemia
- Skin discoloration or irritation (topicals)
What supplies do you need for local anesthesia?
- Cottonball (if using LET)
- Tegaderm (if using EMLA or ELA-Max) 3, 5, or 10 ml syringe
- 18 g needle to draw up medication (use filter needle for broken glass vials)
- 27 g, 1 ¼ inch needle for injection
- NaHCO3 (premixed in TCH EC pharmacy)
- Lidocaine +/- Epinephrine and/or Bupivacaine
How to modify local anesthetics for certain goals?
- Minimize bleeding
- Increase duration of action
Minimize bleeding:
- Add epinephrine (if not contraindicated)
Increase duration of action:
- Mix with bupivacaine (4-8 hrs vs 1-2 hrs)
- Add epinephrine (1-3 hrs vs 1-2 hrs)
How to modify local anesthetics for certain goals: minimize pain?
- Buffer with NaHCO3 -> also speeds onset of action; Lido:NaHCO3 9:1 ratio
- Use the smallest needle (27 g, 1 ¼ inch)
- Sensory distraction (local and behavioral)
- Child Life
- Warm the anesthetic to room temperature
- Inject slowly
- Test before starting the procedure
- Don’t show them the needle!
What are common nerve blocks?
- Digital
- Auricular
- Infraorbital
- Mental
Where is the digital nerve?

Describe nerves around the ear

Where to inject for infraorbital nerve block?

Where to inject for mental nerve block (upper)?

Where to inject for mental nerve block (lower)?

Case 2)
- A 5 y/o boy presents with pain (dolor), redness (rubor), warmth (calor), and swelling (tumor) on his back
- What is the treatment and how will you do it?

Incision and drainage of abscess
What are indications for I/D (incision/drainage) of abscesses?
- Acute, superficial, localized cutaneous abscess
- Fluctuant mass with high likelihood of underlying purulent material
- Differentiating from just cellulitis may be helped with ultrasound
What are contra-indications for I/D of abscesses?
- Extension to deeper structures (e.g. rectum, abdomen, labia, neck) -> consult a surgeon
- Chronic/recurrent abscesses in the same location -> consult a surgeon
- Cellulitis without abscess formatio
- Differential of apparent “abscess”
- Branchial cleft anomaly
- Cystic hygroma
- Scrofula
- Kerion
- Autoimmune inflammatory process
What are complications of I/Ds of abscesses?
- Scar formation
- Abnormal wound healing
- Bleeding
- Bacteremia
- Damage to underlying structures
What are supplies needed to perform incision and drainage?
- Scalpel
- Blunt hemostat
- Forceps
- 2x2 gauze
- Iodine swab
- Sterile drape
Describe the I/D process of abscess
- Anesthetize +/- Procedural Sedation
- Regional block
- Superficially over incision site
- Prep/Drape
- Incise (make it long enough) and obtain culture
- Break loculations in 360’ direction and express pus
- Consider drain
- Irrigate
- Fill with iodoform gauze
- Cover with sterile dressing
What is aftercare for I/D for abscess?
- Antibiotics are controversial
- If under 5 cm, definitive care is drainage
- Change packing in 24-48 hrs
- Warm soaks QID (3-4x/day)
Case 3)
- A 2 week old girl presents with a temperature of 101 F
- CBC, UA, and cultures are sent
- The patient also needs an…
- We get worried about temp > 100.4’F in babies
- Need lumbar puncture
- Even if no seizure, any fever > 100.4’F requires full sepsis eval, including lumbar puncture








