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Background: Controversy remains about whether e-learning can improve clinical competences. Our study aimed to compare the effects of e-learning versus traditional education on medical students' reasoning and how they applied their knowledge to clinical competences, assess factors associated with e-learning that might influence exam scores, and evaluate medical students' satisfaction with these two learning methods., Methods: Prospective study of 299 medical students in two fourth-year pediatric clerkship cohorts (2016-17 and 2017-18) in Switzerland., Results: We found no evidence of a difference in students' reasoning or how they applied their knowledge to competences in clinical case resolution, whether they had followed e-learning modules or attended traditional lectures. The number of quizzes taken and being female were factors associated with better scores. Even though overall satisfaction with the two learning methods was similar, students claimed that they learned more in e-learning than in traditional lectures and that e-learning explained learning objectives better., Conclusions: E-learning could be used as a supplement or alternative to traditional face-to-face medical teaching methods without compromising teaching quality. E-learning modules should be better integrated into medical students' curricula but avoid the risk of curriculum overload, especially in case of repeated COVID-like context., Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed., (Copyright: © 2024 Stollar F et al.)

The latest guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics for the management of bronchiolitis has helped reduce unnecessary interventions and costs. However, data on patients still receiving interventions are missing. In patients with acute bronchiolitis whose management was assessed and compared with current achievable benchmarks of care, we aimed to identify factors associated with nonadherence to guideline recommendations. In this single-centre retrospective study the management of bronchiolitis pre-guideline (Period 1: 2010 to 2012) was compared with two periods post-guideline (Period 2: 2015 to 2016, early post-guideline; and Period 3: 2017 to 2018, late post-guideline) in otherwise healthy infants aged less than 1 year presenting at the Children's University Hospitals of Geneva (Switzerland). Post-guideline, bronchodilators were more frequently administered to older (>6 months; OR 25.8, 95%CI 12.6-52.6), and atopic (OR 3.5, 95%CI 1.5-7.5) children with wheezing (OR 5.4, 95%CI 3.3-8.7). Oral corticosteroids were prescribed more frequently to older (>6 months; OR 5.2, 95%CI 1.4-18.7) infants with wheezing (OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.3-17.8). Antibiotics and chest X-ray were more frequently prescribed to children admitted to the intensive care unit (antibiotics: OR 4.2, 95%CI 1.3-13.5; chest X-ray: OR 19.4, 95%CI 7.4-50.6). Latest prescription rates were all below the achievable benchmarks of care. In summary, following the latest American Academy of Pediatrics guideline, older, atopic children with wheezing and infants admitted to the intensive care unit were more likely to receive nonevidence-based interventions during an episode of bronchiolitis. These patient profiles are generally excluded from bronchiolitis trials, and therefore not specifically covered by the current guideline. Further research should focus on the benefit of bronchiolitis interventions in these particular populations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Pittet et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Importance: Little is known about the natural course of oxygen desaturation in acute bronchiolitis. Information on risk factors associated with desaturation as well as the time to desaturation in infants with bronchiolitis could help physicians better treat these infants before deciding whether to hospitalize them., Objective: To prospectively determine the frequency of desaturation in infants with bronchiolitis, along with the time to desaturation and risk factors associated with desaturation, and to compare infants who were hospitalized with those discharged home and evaluate risk factors for rehospitalization., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was conducted during the 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 respiratory syncytial virus seasons in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department in Switzerland. Included individuals were 239 otherwise-healthy infants aged younger than 1 year, diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis and oxygen saturation of 90% or more on arrival. Data were analyzed from July 2019 to October 2020., Exposures: After receiving triage care, study participants admitted to the emergency department were equipped with a pulse oximeter to continuously record oxygen saturation (Spo2 levels), regardless of subsequent hospitalization or discharge home., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was desaturation (ie, Spo2 < 90%) during the first 36 hours., Results: Of 239 infants enrolled, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) age of 3.9 (1.5-6.5) months, 116 (48.5%) were boys and desaturation occurred in 165 infants (69.0%). Median (IQR) time to desaturation was 3.6 (1.8-9.4) hours. The rate of desaturation was similar between infants hospitalized and those discharged home (137 of 200 infants [68.5%] vs 28 of 39 infants [71.8%]; difference, -3.3%; 95% CI, -18.8% to 12.2%; P = .85). A more severe initial clinical presentation with moderate or severe retractions was the only independent risk factor associated with desaturation (odds ratio, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.49 to 5.02; P = .001). Of 39 infants discharged home, 22 infants (56.4%) experienced major desaturations. However, infants with desaturations, including those with major desaturations, had rates of rehospitalization similar to those of infants without desaturations (8 of 28 infants [28.5%] vs 3 of 11 infants [27.3%]; difference, 1.2%; 95% CI, -29.9% to 32.5; P > .99)., Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that rates of desaturation in infants with acute bronchiolitis were high and similar between infants who were hospitalized and those discharged home. A more severe initial clinical presentation was the only risk factor associated with desaturation. However, for infants discharged home, desaturation was not a risk factor associated with rehospitalization.

Background: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has been used in pediatrics since the 1980s. Its main drawback is that large numbers of children are needed to make up for the fatigue factor inherent in prolonged testing periods. Also, examinations mainly include children between 7 and 16 years old. We describe the summative examination used in our institution to evaluate medical students' clinical competencies in pediatrics with realistic available resources and for a wider age-range. We also evaluated different factors known to influence medical students' performances., Methods: This retrospective, descriptive, observational study evaluated the 740 distinct pediatric examination results of fourth-year medical students over 5 years. Their summative examination combined two different assessment methods: a structured real-patient examination (SRPE) using standardized assessment grids for the most frequent pediatric diagnoses, and a computer-based written examination (CBWE)., Results: Our approach defined an appropriate setting for some key elements of the educational objectives of pediatrics training, such as balancing the child-parent-pediatrician triangle and the ability to interact with pediatric patients, from newborns to 16-year-old adolescents, in a child-friendly fashion in realistic scenarios. SRPE scores showed no associations with students' degrees of exposure to specific lecture topics, vignettes, or bedside teaching. The impacts of clinical setting, topic, and individual examiners on SRPE scores was quite limited. Setting explained 1.6%, topic explained 4.5%, and examiner explained 4.7% of the overall variability in SRPE scores., Conclusions: By combining two different assessment methods, we were able to provide a best-practice approach for assessing clinical skills in Pediatrics over a wide range of real patients.

Background: Little is known regarding the psychometric properties of computerized long-menu formats in comparison to classic formats. We compared single-best-answer (Type A) and long-menu formats using identical question stems during the computer-based, summative, intermediate clinical-clerkship exams for nine disciplines., Methods: In this randomised sequential trial, we assigned the examinees for every summative exam to either the Type A or long-menu format (four different experimental questions, otherwise identical). The primary outcome was the power of discrimination. The study was carried out at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and included all the students enrolled for the exams that were part of the study. Examinees were surveyed about the long-menu format at the end of the trial., Results: The trial was stopped for futility (p = 0.7948) after 22 exams including 88 experimental items. The long-menu format had a similar discriminatory power but was more difficult than the Type A format (71.45% vs 77.80%; p = 0.0001). Over half of the options (54.4%) chosen by the examinees in long-menu formats were not proposed as distractors in the Type A formats. Most examinees agreed that their reasoning strategy was different., Conclusions: In a non-selected population of examinees taking summative exams, long-menu questions have the same discriminatory power as classic Type A questions, but they are slightly more difficult. They are perceived to be closer to real practice, which could have a positive educational impact. We would recommend their use in the final years of the curriculum, within realistic key-feature problems, to assess clinical reasoning and patient management skills.

In infants, the causes of acute repetitive vomiting and severely altered-consciousness status include a broad differential diagnosis, that is, primarly sepsis, infectious gastroenteritis, head injury, and intoxication, as well as neurologic, metabolic, and cardiologic condition diseases. In patients developing such symptoms, allergy as an etiological cause is often not considered by primary care physicians. With this case report, we aim to draw the attention of general pediatricians, emergency physicians, and intensivists to the fact that non-immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergic gastrointestinal disorders such as food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome should be considered in patients with sepsis-like symptoms.

Recent publications have established the pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) threshold of 90% for the hospitalization and discharge of infant patients with bronchiolitis. However, there is no clear recommendation regarding the Emergency Department (ED) observation period necessary before allowing safe home discharge for patients with SpO2 above 90%-92%. Our primary aims were to evaluate the risk factors associated with delayed desaturation in infants with SpO2 ≥ 92% on arrival at the ED as well as the ED observation period necessary before allowing safe home discharge. A secondary aim was to identify the risk factors for ED readmission. Of 581 episodes of bronchiolitis in patients < 1 year old admitted to the ED, only 47 (8%) had SpO2 < 92% on arrival there, although 106 (18%) exhibited a delayed desaturation (to < 92%) during ED observation. Female sex, age < 3 months old, ED readmission, more severe initial clinical presentation, and higher pCO2 level (> 6KPa) were risk factors for delayed desaturation with OR varying from 1.7 to 7.5. In patients < 3 months old, mean desaturation occured later than in older patients [6.0 hours (IQR 3.0-14.0) vs. 3.0 hours (IQR 2.0-6.0), P = 0.0018]. In 95% of patients with a delayed desaturation this decrease occurred within 25 hours for patients < 3 months old and within 11 hours for patients ≥ 3 months old. In patients < 3 months old with respiratory rates above the normal range for their age the desaturation occurred earlier than in patients < 3 months with normal respiratory rates [4.4 hours (IQR 3.0-11.7) vs. 14.6 hours (IQR 7.6-22.2), P = 0.037]. Based on the present study's results, we propose a five step guide for pediatricians on discharging children with bronchiolitis from the ED. By using the threshold of an 11 hour ED observation period for patients ≥ 3 months old and a 25 hour period for patients < 3 months old we are able to detect 95% of the patients with bronchiolitis who are at risk of delayed desaturation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, therapeutic, laboratory, and radiological differences between respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and non-RSV bronchiolitis in order to assess if the prior knowledge of viral etiology changed management decisions and would be able to predict outcomes. Medical charts of children <1 year admitted to the emergency department with bronchiolitis during two RSV seasons (2010-2012) were reviewed. We analyzed 221 episodes of bronchiolitis. The percentage of exams performed (95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.74-2.52), abnormal laboratory and radiological findings (95 % CI 0.53-16.89) did not differ between groups. RSV bronchiolitis had a more severe clinical course. However, virologic testing for RSV had low specificity in identifying at-risk patients for hospitalization, longer hospital length of stay, and need of oxygen therapy and nasogastric tube (44, 40, 42, and 35 %, respectively), and while statistically significant, the positive likelihood ratios were only slightly greater than 1., Conclusion: Although RSV bronchiolitis has a more severe clinical course, virologic testing does not help in management decisions, and at an individual level, as a performance test, it seems insufficient to precisely predict outcomes.

Background: The six-minute-walk-test (6MWT) has been increasingly used in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. However, few studies in children have correlated 6MWT with current parameters used to evaluate CF severity. Moreover, no study transformed the values of distance walked from meters into Z scores to avoid bias like age and gender, which are sources of 6MWT variability., Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed to analyze the correlations (Spearman) among forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), body mass index (BMI), chest radiography (CXR), chest tomography (CT), and 6MWT Z score (Z-6MWT). Clinically stable CF patients, aged 6-21 years, were included., Results: 34 patients, 14F/20M, mean age 12.1±4.0 years were studied. The mean Z-6MWT was -1.1±1.106. The following correlations versus Z-6MWT were found: FEV(1) (r=0.59, r(2)=0.32, p=0.0002), BMI Z score (r=0.42, r(2)=0.17, p=0.013), CXR (r=0.34, r(2)=0.15, p=0.0472) and CT (r=-0.45, r(2)=0.23, p=0.0073)., Conclusions: In conclusion there was a significant, but poor, correlation between the six minute walk test Z score and the cystic fibrosis severity markers currently in use., (Copyright © 2011 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The Shwachman-Kulczycki score was the first scoring system used in cystic fibrosis to assess disease severity. Despite its subjectivity, it is still widely used., Objective: To study correlations among forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), chest radiography, chest computed tomography, 6-minute walk test, and Shwachman-Kulczycki score in patients with cystic fibrosis and to test whether the Shwachman-Kulczycki score is still useful in monitoring the severity of the disease., Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was performed to analyze the correlations (Spearman). Patients with clinically stable cystic fibrosis, aged 3-21 years, were included., Results: 43 patients, 19F/24M, mean age 10.5 + 4.7 years, with a median Shwachman-Kulczycki score of 70 were studied. The median Brasfield and Bhalla scores were 17 and 10, respectively. The mean Z score for the 6-minute walk test was -1.1 + 1.106 and the mean FEV1 was 59 + 26 (as percentage of predicted values). The following significant correlations versus the Shwachman-Kulczycki score were found: FEV1 (r = 0.76), 6-minute walk test (r = 0.71), chest radiography (r = 0.71) and chest computed tomography (r = -0.78). When patients were divided according to FEV1, a statistically significantly correlation with the Shwachman-Kulczycki score was found only in patients with FEV1 <70% (r = 0.67)., Conclusions: The Shwachman-Kulczycki score remains an useful tool for monitoring the severity of cystic fibrosis, adequately reflecting the functional impairment and chest radiography and tomography changes, especially in patients with greater impairment of lung function. When assessing patients with mild lung disease its limitations should be considered and its usefulness in such patients should be evaluated in larger populations.