Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich (HWW) syndrome is a rare, congenital genitourinary anomaly involving the Müllerian and Wolffian structures, and is characterized by the triad of uterine didelphys, obstructed hemivagina, and ipsilateral renal agenesis. It usually presents in adolescent girls in whom hematometrocolpos produces a pronounced mass effect and pain on the side of the obstructed hemivagina. Accurate diagnosis and surgical treatment can be delayed for several months or even years. Here, we report a case of a 12-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with lower abdominal pain and mass that had lasted for 2 weeks. After the confirmation of HWW syndrome with magnetic resonance imaging, hysteroscopic septostomy was carried out as a definitive treatment. When we evaluate adolescent girls with lower abdominal pain and mass, we should consider the possibility of HWW syndrome.
Abdominal Pain ; Adolescent ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female* ; Hematocolpos ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mullerian Ducts ; Wolffian Ducts

PURPOSE: Increasing visit of children to emergency departments (EDs) necessitates the effort to expand pediatric emergency medicine resources. We conducted this study to understand the epidemiologic characteristics of children who visited a community hospital ED. METHODS: The medical records of 32,031 children aged younger than 18 years were reviewed retrospectively from January 2013 to December 2015. We analyzed the age distribution, season, day, and time of visit, cause of visit, test performed, initial diagnosis, injury mechanisms, and disposition. RESULTS: Mean age of the children was 6.2±5.1 years and boys accounted for 59.1%. Children who had disease (65.5%) and aged 1 to 4 years (41.9%) accounted for the largest population. There was no difference of age distribution through seasons (P = 0.07). The proportions of children with disease and injury were the highest during winter (72.5%) and autumn (38.2%), respectively (P < 0.001). Children tended to visit the ED more frequently during non-business hours. In particular, children who aged 1 to 4 years, had disease or were slight ill visited the ED more frequently during this period (P < 0.001). Plain abdomen radiographs and urinalyses were performed to 29.8% and 16.1% of the children, respectively. Functional gastrointestinal disorder (20.3%) and laceration (30.1%) were the most common initial diagnoses among the children with disease and injury, respectively. The most common injury mechanism was struck injury (29.7%). After the treatment, 94.4% of the children were sent home from the ED. Of the remaining children, 5.5% were admitted, 0.1% were transferred to other hospitals, and 0.04% expired. CONCLUSION: Children who aged 1 to 4 years, had disease or were slight ill visited the ED more frequently during non-business hours than business hours. Pediatric emergency medicine resources should be expanded in consideration of this.
Abdomen ; Age Distribution ; Child* ; Commerce ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Epidemiology ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Hospitals, Community ; Humans ; Lacerations ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Seasons ; Urinalysis ; Urinary Tract Infections

PURPOSE: To investigate whether performance of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can reduce emergency department length of stay (EDLOS) for children with nonspecific manifestations of intussusception (NMI), defined as 2 or less manifestations of the classic triad of intussusception, and/or vomiting. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 141 consecutive children with intussusception aged 6 years or younger who visited the emergency department of Asan Medical Center in Seoul, Korea from May 2014 through April 2016 and underwent diagnostic radiology ultrasound and pneumatic reduction. The children were grouped according to whether they underwent POCUS or not (POCUS and no POCUS groups, respectively). POCUS was performed to children with NMI by an attending emergency physician who had completed a POCUS training course endorsed by the Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. We measured EDLOS, which consisted of door-to-reduction and observation times. These time intervals were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Of 112 eligible children, 65 (58%) underwent POCUS. The median EDLOS was shorter in the POCUS group than in the no POCUS group (566 minutes, interquartile range [IQR] 497 to 765 vs. 745 minutes, IQR 551 to 981; P = 0.003). The median door-to-reduction and observation times were also shorter in the POCUS group (105 vs. 138 minutes, P < 0.001 and 440 vs. 628 minutes, P = 0.008, respectively). These differences were possibly due to the performance of POCUS and the trend toward early discharge after pneumatic reduction. We found 1 child with false negative result on POCUS, but there may have been more. CONCLUSION: Performance of POCUS may reduce EDLOS in children with NMI.
Child* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Intussusception* ; Korea ; Length of Stay* ; Medical Records ; Point-of-Care Systems* ; Seoul ; Ultrasonography* ; Vomiting

Knowing a pediatric patient's weight is crucial in resuscitation since the decision on the dose of resuscitation drug and the size of the instrument is made mostly based on a patient's weight. However, using a scale may not always be practical in resuscitation. Therefore, it is important to know the methods of weight estimation in resuscitation. The weight estimation can be performed based on various factors: visual assessment, age, height, and body habitus. One of the most common problems of these methods is that the weight tends to be underestimated as a patient's age increases. This is due to an inappropriate reflection of body habitus. Further research is needed to overcome this problem.
Body Weight ; Child ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Infant ; Methods* ; Resuscitation*

After-hours care (AHC) provides urgent primary care at nighttime, weekends, and holidays. In Korea, individual primary care physicians seldom participate in AHC and many parents have difficulty in receiving primary care during non-office hours without going to an emergency department (ED). The ED is currently the only place to access a full range of services at any time. However, the ED is not optimized for AHC, and using it for AHC is not an efficient use of resources. Therefore, many countries are seeking a safe, efficient non-ED AHC model which provides the best care considering the limitations. Different models for AHC exist worldwide, varying from family doctor-based to hospital-based models, and some countries use several different models including 24-hr telephone triage and advice services (TTA). Common problems of AHC include the inaccessibility to primary care, discontinuity of care, expensive healthcare costs, and work dissatisfaction among health care professionals. These are the major reasons for the recent changes made to the AHC system in many countries, such as the integration into one single national TTA in the United Kingdom, support for group practices in Canada, reorganization of small practice rotation groups into large scaled, general practitioner cooperatives in the Netherlands, and rapid expansion of the urgent care industry in the United States. This review presents a brief overview of the current AHC in Korea and the need for an effective non-ED AHC model. An effective AHC system will improve the quality of care, financial saving, and job satisfaction of the health care professionals.
After-Hours Care* ; Ambulatory Care ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Canada ; Child ; Delivery of Health Care ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; General Practitioners ; Great Britain ; Group Practice ; Health Care Costs ; Holidays ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Korea ; Netherlands ; Night Care ; Parents ; Physicians, Primary Care ; Primary Health Care ; Telephone ; Triage ; United States

Given that Kawasaki disease (KD) can cause cardiac complications, it is crucial to diagnose and treat the disease in the emergency department. We report a case of a 10-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with cervical lymphadenopathy and fever. The initial diagnosis was retropharyngeal abscess based on computed tomography findings, but antibiotic therapy failed and she was subsequently diagnosed with KD. After 3 doses of intravenous immunoglobulin along with methylprednisolone and methotrexate, she was discharged on hospital day 21. The cervical lymphadenopathy suggesting retropharyngeal abscess might be an early sign of incomplete or intravenous immunoglobulin-resistant KD.
Child* ; Diagnosis* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female* ; Fever* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Lymphatic Diseases* ; Methotrexate ; Methylprednisolone ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Neck Pain ; Retropharyngeal Abscess* ; Vasculitis

PURPOSE: The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) is a triage tool for patients in the emergency department (ED). We aimed to investigate the association between the KTAS level and hospitalization of children with abdominal pain, a common chief complaint in the ED. METHODS: This study retrospectively reviewed medical records of children aged 3 to 14 years who visited the ED with abdominal pain as a chief complaint. KTAS level (1–3 vs. 4–5), age, gender, presence of associated symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, hematochezia, and fever), and disposition (rapid discharge, discharge after intravenous hydration, and hospitalization) were collected and compared between the children with KTAS 1–3 and 4–5. RESULTS: Of 1,050 children enrolled, 618 (58.9%) were classified as KTAS 1–3, and 36 (3.4%) were hospitalized. Vomiting was the most common associated symptom in both groups (63.6%), and 41.5% underwent discharge after intravenous hydration. The children with KTAS 1–3 were more frequently hospitalized (5.0% vs. 1.2%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The KTAS may be reliable to predict the hospitalization of children with abdominal pain in the ED with additional consideration of the associated symptoms.
Abdominal Pain* ; Child* ; Critical Illness ; Diarrhea ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Hospitalization* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Pediatrics ; Retrospective Studies ; Triage* ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: To compare the sedation outcome according to the dose of per os chloral hydrate in children who underwent laceration repair in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This retrospective study was performed to the children who underwent sedation using chloral hydrate for laceration repair in the ED from January 2015 through November 2015. A total of 370 children aged younger than 6 years underwent the sedation. We compared the induction time, duration of sedation, and ED length of stay (EDLOS) between the single dose (50 mg/kg) and additional dose (plus 25 mg/kg) groups. RESULTS: Of 370 children, 335 (90.5%) were sedated successfully, 284 (76.8%) were sedated with initial dose (the single dose group), and 51 (13.8%) were sedated with additional dose (the additional dose group). The induction time and EDLOS were longer in the additional dose group (induction time: 31.0 ± 17.2 minutes vs. 96.2 ± 25.4 minutes, P < 0.001; EDLOS: 137.2 ± 35.5 minutes vs. 193.0 ± 36.0 minutes, P < 0.001). The duration of sedation showed no difference between the 2 groups (44.4 ± 24.0 minutes vs. 42.0 ± 20.8 minutes; P = 0.500). No one had serious adverse reactions. CONCLUSION: Additional dose of chloral hydrate can increase the induction time and EDLOS without increasing the duration of sedation and causing serious adverse reactions. This information may improve the efficiency of ED workflow when shared with parents of the children.
Child* ; Chloral Hydrate* ; Conscious Sedation ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Lacerations* ; Length of Stay ; Parents ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the appropriateness of transport of children via emergency medical service providers (EMSP) according to the decision-maker on referred hospitals (EMSP [EMSP group] vs. guardians [user group]). METHODS: We analyzed first aid records by EMSP for children aged 15 years or younger in Gyeonggi province, Korea, from January 2012 through December 2013. We obtained the following data: scene, symptom, type (high-level [regional/local emergency medical centers] or not) and location (out-of-province or not) of referred hospitals, injury, level of consciousness (alert or not), and prehospital triage results by EMSP (emergent/less emergent or not). RESULTS: A total of 50,407 children were included, of whom 37,626 (74.6%) belonged to the user group. Overall, the most common scene, symptom, and type and location of referred hospitals were home (57.0%), pain (33.3%), and inside-theprovince and local emergency medical centers (44.2%), respectively. The user group showed less frequent injury (P < 0.001), decreased level of consciousness (P < 0.001), and no significant difference in the triage results (P = 0.074). This group showed more frequent transport to high-level and out-of-province emergency medical centers (P < 0.001), and longer transport (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The user group showed more frequent transport to high-level or remote referred hospitals without more critical prehospital triage results. Guardian-directed transport of children might be associated with the inappropriate transport of children via EMSP.
Ambulances ; Child* ; Consciousness ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medical Services* ; Epidemiology ; First Aid ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Transportation of Patients ; Triage

PURPOSE: Peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIC) for children is technically difficult. We aimed to investigate factors associated with the primary success of PIC for children in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted on children younger than 3 years who visited the ED from September 2014 to August 2015. The children undergoing primary success, defined as success at the first attempt, comprised the success group. Using a case report form, information about the children (age, sex, and weight), practitioners' occupation (doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians [EMTs]), treatment venue, insertion site of PIC, presence of guardians, and use of auxiliary devices were collected and compared between the success and failure groups. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to identify factors associated with the primary success. RESULTS: Of 439 children, 271 underwent the primary success (61.7%). The success group showed older age, heavier weight, and higher proportion of EMT. No differences were found in treatment venue, insertion site, and presence of the guardian. We found that patients' age (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.003–1.1), and practitioners' occupation (EMT; OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.9–4.7, compared with doctors) were the factors associated with the primary success. CONCLUSION: Practitioners' occupation (EMT) and children's age (older) may be associated with the primary success of PIC. It may be helpful to have specialized personnel when performing PIC on children in the ED.
Catheterization ; Catheterization, Peripheral ; Catheters* ; Child ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medical Technicians ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Observational Study ; Occupations ; Pediatrics ; Prospective Studies ; Veins