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It is unknown whether febrile infants 29 to 60 days old with positive urinalysis results require routine lumbar punctures for evaluation of bacterial meningitis.To determine the prevalence of bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis in febrile infants ≤60 days of age with positive urinalysis (UA) results.Secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of noncritical febrile infants ≤60 days between 2011 and 2019 conducted in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network emergency departments. Participants had temperatures ≥38°C and were evaluated with blood cultures and had UAs available for analysis. We report the prevalence of bacteremia and bacterial meningitis in those with and without positive UA results.Among 7180 infants, 1090 (15.2%) had positive UA results. The risk of bacteremia was higher in those with positive versus negative UA results (63/1090 [5.8%] vs 69/6090 [1.1%], difference 4.7% [3.3% to 6.1%]). There was no difference in the prevalence of bacterial meningitis in infants ≤28 days of age with positive versus negative UA results (∼1% in both groups). However, among 697 infants aged 29 to 60 days with positive UA results, there were no cases of bacterial meningitis in comparison to 9 of 4153 with negative UA results (0.2%, difference -0.2% [-0.4% to -0.1%]). In addition, there were no cases of bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis in the 148 infants ≤60 days of age with positive UA results who had the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network low-risk blood thresholds of absolute neutrophil count4 × 103 cells/mm3 and procalcitonin0.5 ng/mL.Among noncritical febrile infants ≤60 days of age with positive UA results, there were no cases of bacterial meningitis in those aged 29 to 60 days and no cases of bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis in any low-risk infants based on low-risk blood thresholds in both months of life. These findings can guide lumbar puncture use and other clinical decision making.

BACKGROUND: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) 2-question screen is a valid adolescent alcohol screening tool. No studies have examined if this tool predicts future alcohol problems. We conducted a study at 16 pediatric emergency departments to determine the tool’s predictive validity for alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorders (AUDs). METHODS: Participants (N = 4834) completed a baseline assessment battery. A subsample of participants completed the battery at 1, 2, and 3 years follow up. RESULTS: Of the 2209 participants assigned to follow-up, 1611 (73%) completed a 1-year follow-up, 1591 (72%) completed a 2-year follow-up, and 1377 (62%) completed a 3-year follow-up. The differences in AUDs between baseline NIAAA screen nondrinkers and lower-risk drinkers were statistically significant at 1 year (P = .0002), 2 years (P CONCLUSIONS: The NIAAA 2-question screen can accurately characterize adolescent risk for future AUDs. Future studies are needed to determine optimaluse of the screen.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:Children and adolescents with minor blunt head trauma and isolated skull fractures are often admitted to the hospital. The objective of this study was to describe the injury circumstances and frequency of clinically important neurologic complications among children with minor blunt head trauma and isolated linear skull fractures.METHODS:This study was a planned secondary analysis of a large prospective cohort study in children RESULTS:In the parent study, we enrolled 43 904 children (11 035 [25%] CONCLUSIONS:Children with minor blunt head trauma and isolated linear skull fractures are at very low risk of evolving other traumatic findings noted in subsequent imaging studies or requiring neurosurgical intervention. Hospital admission for neurologically normal children with isolated linear skull fractures after minor blunt head trauma for monitoring is typically unnecessary.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of the Yale Observation Scale (YOS) score and unstructured clinician suspicion to identify febrile infants ≤60 days of age with and without serious bacterial infections (SBIs). METHODS: We performed a planned secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of non–critically ill, febrile, full-term infants ≤60 days of age presenting to 1 of 26 participating emergency departments in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. We defined SBIs as urinary tract infections, bacteremia, or bacterial meningitis, with the latter 2 considered invasive bacterial infections. Emergency department clinicians applied the YOS (range: 6–30; normal score: ≤10) and estimated the risk of SBI using unstructured clinician suspicion (50%). RESULTS: Of the 4591 eligible infants, 444 (9.7%) had SBIs and 97 (2.1%) had invasive bacterial infections. Of the 4058 infants with YOS scores of ≤10, 388 (9.6%) had SBIs (sensitivity: 51/439 [11.6%]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.8%–15.0%; negative predictive value: 3670/4058 [90.4%]; 95% CI: 89.5%–91.3%) and 72 (1.8%) had invasive bacterial infections (sensitivity 23/95 [24.2%], 95% CI: 16.0%–34.1%; negative predictive value: 3983/4055 [98.2%], 95% CI: 97.8%–98.6%). Of the infants with clinician suspicion of CONCLUSIONS: In this large prospective cohort of febrile infants ≤60 days of age, neither the YOS score nor unstructured clinician suspicion reliably identified those with invasive bacterial infections. More accurate clinical and laboratory predictors are needed to risk stratify febrile infants.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Pediatric cervical spine injuries (CSIs) are rare and differ from adult CSIs. Our objective was to describe CSIs in a large, representative cohort of children. METHODS: We conducted a 5-year retrospective review of children RESULTS: A total of 540 children with CSIs were included in the study. CSI level was associated with both age and mechanism of injury. For children CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a high degree of variability of CSI patterns, treatments and outcomes in children. The rarity, variation, and morbidity of pediatric CSIs make prompt recognition and treatment critical.

* Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics NVDRS — : National Violent Death Reporting System The absence of guns from children’s homes and communities is the most reliable and effective measure to prevent firearm-related injuries in children and adolescents. Adolescent suicide risk is strongly associated with firearm availability. Safe gun storage (guns unloaded and locked, ammunition locked separately) reduces children’s risk of injury. Physician counseling of parents about firearm safety appears to be effective, but firearm safety education programs directed at children are ineffective. The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to support a number of specific measures to reduce the destructive effects of guns in the lives of children and adolescents, including the regulation of the manufacture, sale, purchase, ownership, and use of firearms; a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons; and the strongest possible regulations of handguns for civilian use. Although rates have declined since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued the original policy statement in 1992, firearm-related deaths continue as 1 of the top 3 causes of death in American youth.1 As shown in Fig 1, the firearm-associated death rate among youth ages 15 to 19 has fallen from its peak of 27.8 deaths per 100 000 in 1994 to 11.4 per 100 000 in 2009, driven by a decline in firearm homicide rates.1 No single study has adequately explained the decline in firearm-related homicide rates. Postulated reasons include improved socioeconomic conditions, violence prevention programs, decline in the crack/cocaine market, changes in legislation, declines in firearms availability for other reasons, and community policing. Nevertheless, firearm-associated death and disability rates remain unacceptably high. FIGURE 1 Firearm-related death rates per 100 000 people 15 through 19 years of age in the United States, 1995–2009. (Adapted from National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-Based Injury Statistics Query & Reporting System (WISQARS) Injury Mortality Reports, 1999–2009, for national, regional, and …

Child passenger safety has dramatically evolved over the past decade; however, motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death of children 4 years and older. This policy statement provides 4 evidence-based recommendations for best practices in the choice of a child restraint system to optimize safety in passenger vehicles for children from birth through adolescence: (1) rear-facing car safety seats for most infants up to 2 years of age; (2) forward-facing car safety seats for most children through 4 years of age; (3) belt-positioning booster seats for most children through 8 years of age; and (4) lap-and-shoulder seat belts for all who have outgrown booster seats. In addition, a fifth evidence-based recommendation is for all children younger than 13 years to ride in the rear seats of vehicles. It is important to note that every transition is associated with some decrease in protection; therefore, parents should be encouraged to delay these transitions for as long as possible. These recommendations are presented in the form of an algorithm that is intended to facilitate implementation of the recommendations by pediatricians to their patients and families and should cover most situations that pediatricians will encounter in practice. The American Academy of Pediatrics urges all pediatricians to know and promote these recommendations as part of child passenger safety anticipatory guidance at every health-supervision visit.

Despite significant reductions in the number of children killed in motor vehicle crashes over the past decade, crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for children 4 years and older. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend inclusion of child passenger safety anticipatory guidance at every health-supervision visit. This technical report provides a summary of the evidence in support of 5 recommendations for best practices to optimize safety in passenger vehicles for children from birth through adolescence that all pediatricians should know and promote in their routine practice. These recommendations are presented in the revised policy statement on child passenger safety in the form of an algorithm that is intended to facilitate their implementation by pediatricians with their patients and families. The algorithm is designed to cover the majority of situations that pediatricians will encounter in practice. In addition, a summary of evidence on a number of additional issues that affect the safety of children in motor vehicles, including the proper use and installation of child restraints, exposure to air bags, travel in pickup trucks, children left in or around vehicles, and the importance of restraint laws, is provided. Finally, this technical report provides pediatricians with a number of resources for additional information to use when providing anticipatory guidance to families.

OBJECTIVE: There is significant variation in the literature regarding the characteristics that are associated with pediatric ovarian torsion and its management. National data regarding the demographics and management of pediatric ovarian torsion are lacking. Our objective was to describe the epidemiology of pediatric ovarian torsion and the rate of oophorectomy by using nationally representative data. Demographic factors and hospital characteristics that are associated with rates of oophorectomy were also explored. METHODS: This was a cohort analysis of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) 2000, 2003, and 2006. All females aged 1 to 20 years who were hospitalized with ovarian torsion in states participating in KID 2000, KID 2003, and KID 2006 representing 900, 1224, and 1232 ovarian torsion-related hospitalizations, respectively, were included. Primary outcome measures included the incidence of ovarian torsion and rate of associated oophorectomy. Multivariable regression was used to control for patient and hospital characteristics. RESULTS: Among females aged 1 to 20 years, there were 1232 cases of ovarian torsion in KID 2006, an estimated incidence of 4.9 per 100000. A total of 713 (58%) were treated with oophorectomy. The rate of ovarian torsion–associated oophorectomy remained unchanged from 2000 to 2006. The adjusted odds of having an oophorectomy decreased by 0.95 for every increasing year of age. Residing in a lower quartile of household income by zip code increased the adjusted odds of oophorectomy. A diagnosis of benign neoplasm increased the adjusted odds of oophorectomy by 2.16. Fewer than 0.5% of ovarian torsion hospitalizations were associated with malignant neoplasm. CONCLUSIONS: Nationally representative hospital data indicate that ovarian torsion is uncommon but occurs in all ages and is typically associated with normal ovaries or benign lesions. Improved awareness of the epidemiology may help to guide management. Ongoing analysis to identify factors that are associated with successful conservative management is warranted.

OBJECTIVES. Oral rehydration therapy is underused by physicians treating children with acute infectious enteritis. To guide management, we hypothesized that clinical variables available at the initial assessment could be identified that will predict the need for intravenous fluid administration. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Clinical data were prospectively collected on a cohort of 214 children, aged 6 months to 10 years, treated in an emergency department for dehydration secondary to acute enteritis. All of the children performed supervised oral rehydration therapy for a minimum of 60 minutes according to protocol. Outcomes assessed were intravenous rehydration, return visits after discharge, and successful oral rehydration therapy. The latter variable was defined as the consumption of ≥12.5 mL/kg per hour of oral rehydration solution. Variables individually associated with outcomes of interest were evaluated by using multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS. Forty-eight(22%) of 214 children received intravenous rehydration. In multivariate analysis, the 2 clinical predictors of intravenous rehydration were large urinary ketones and altered mental status. Significant predictors of repeat emergency department visits within 3 days included ≥10 episodes of vomiting over the 24 hours before presentation and a higher heart rate at discharge from the emergency department. CONCLUSIONS. Among children with enteritis and mild-to-moderate dehydration, the presence of large urine ketones or an altered mental status is associated with intravenous rehydration after a 60-minute oral rehydration therapy period. Caution should be exercised before discharging children with either tachycardia or a history of significant vomiting before presentation, because they are more likely to require future emergency department care.

Objective. To describe the incidence, external cause, and types of injuries among infants treated in US emergency departments (EDs) and to compare the external cause of nonfatal to fatal injuries.Design. ED survey from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey for 1992–1999 and NCHS mortality data.Patients. National probability sample of patients treated in EDs; data for children Outcome Measures. Incidence and external cause of nonfatal injury among infants. Rates were calculated using NCHS data for live births.Results. The 8-year annualized, weighted estimate of infant injuries was 426 957, a rate of 108.2 per 1000 infant years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 94.8–121.5). There were no significant differences in rates by sex, race, or ethnicity. An estimated 6% were admitted to the hospital (admission rate: 6.1 per 1000). Most injuries occurred in the home. Head trauma accounted for injuries in 12% of children (injury rate: 13.4 per 1000 per year [95% CI: 9.3–17.3]; 21% of children with head trauma had a skull fracture or an intracranial injury. An estimated 30.2 per 1000 (95% CI: 23.8–36.6) had face trauma and 23.9 per 1000 (95% CI: 18.2–29.6) had extremity injuries; open wounds or superficial injuries accounted for many of these injuries. An estimated 4% had extremity fractures (annual rate: 4.6/1000). Falls were the most frequent cause of injury (an estimated 35.1 per 1000 infant years). The rate of motor vehicle traffic injuries was 8.8 per 1000. Foreign bodies accounted for an estimated 5.2 injuries and poisonings for an estimated 3.8 injuries per 1000 infant years. A comparison with infant mortality data showed the ratio of nonfatal to fatal falls to be 8789:1. The ratio of nonfatal to fatal motor vehicle traffic injuries was 197:1. There were an estimated 1271 nonfatal poisonings for each poisoning fatality.Conclusions. Nonfatal injuries far outnumber fatalities. Injuries from falls are very common, but they are rarely fatal. Surveillance of nonfatal injuries is essential to accurately describe and understand the burden of injury among infants. Prevention strategies must be developed to address extremely frequent, less serious injuries in infancy.

To identify the incidence, type, and severity of burns associated with microwave oven (MW) use and to compare MW-associated burns with those associated with use of conventional stoves, we conducted a review of a national data base. Data were obtained from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission Injury Information Clearinghouse for 1986 through 1990 concerning burn injuries to children (0 to 19 years). There were an estimated 5160 burns associated with MW use. The mean age was 7.6 years (median, 6 years); 25% of burns were to children younger than 36 months old. Fifty-eight percent involved females. Most MW burns were scalds (95%); 16% of these scalds were from exploding eggs or other food. No MW burn involved a body surface area greater than 25% and no patient required hospital admission. Microwave oven burns were compared with stove burns. There were an estimated 41198 stove-associated burns to children. The mean age was 5.8 years; the median was 3 years. Forty-five percent of burns were to children younger than 36 months old; 55% were to males. Most stove burns (74%) were thermal; 7% involved a body surface area greater than 25%. Five percent of children with stove burns required hospital admission. We conclude that (1) burns to children associated with MW use are less frequent and less severe than stove burns; (2) MW burns predominantly affect females; and (3) burn prevention efforts should emphasize the hazards of stoves, which vastly exceed those of MWs.

Objective. To describe the incidence, circumstances, and types of stroller-related injuries among US children. Design. Retrospective review of data for children 3 years old and younger from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission for 1994–1998. Results. There were an estimated 64 373 stroller-related injuries (95% confidence interval [CI]: 49 223–79 514) to children 3 years old and younger treated in hospital emergency departments in the United States during the 5-year study period. The median age at the time of the injury was 11 months; 51% were males. The annual rate of injury among children Conclusions. Injuries related to strollers are common, particularly among children in the first year of life. They often result from falls from the stroller. The data suggest that restraint use would prevent many stroller-related injuries.

Background.Written materials used in pediatric public health settings often exceed the reading skills of caretakers.Objective.To compare a pictorial anticipatory guidance (PAG) sheet requiring limited reading skills to a TIPP (The Injury Prevention Program) sheet for providing injury prevention information to low-income urban families.Design and Setting.A convenience sample of families with children treated at an urban pediatric clinic affiliated with a teaching hospital.Methods.Parents of children ≤6 years old received either a PAG sheet or a TIPP sheet during a well-child care clinic visit; parents of children seen in the morning clinic received a PAG sheet and those seen during the afternoon clinic a TIPP sheet. All also received injury prevention counseling by a clinic nurse. The recall of injury prevention information was assessed by telephone questionnaire 14 to 28 days after the clinic encounter.Results.We interviewed 66 parents (57% of families enrolled): 46 were in the PAG group and 20 in the TIPP group. There were no differences between groups in mean parent age, percent minority race, or percent public aid. Eighty-seven percent of PAG and 100% of TIPP parents recalled receiving an information sheet; 17% of PAG and 20% of TIPP parents could recall no specific injury topics. The mean number of topics recalled was 2.1 ± 1.5 from parents in the PAG group and 1.6 ± 1.1 from those in the TIPP group. No specific injury topic was recalled by more than half the parents in either group.Conclusions.Recall of injury information several weeks after a clinic visit is limited. The use of PAG sheets did not improve recall; lack of literacy is not the sole cause of poor recall. Successful injury prevention counseling in this population may require comprehensive and repetitive efforts.