Shenoi et al reported the Pediatric Submersion Score for evaluating pediatric patients in the Emergency Department after near-drowning. This can help to identify a patient at low risk for complications. The authors are from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and University of California in San Francisco.
Patient selection: age <= 18 years, following submersion in a warm climate
Parameters in the Emergency Department (ED):
(1) mentation
(2) respiratory rate
(3) dyspnea
(4) need for airway support (CPAP, intubation with ventilation, etc)
(5) hypotension
Parameter
Finding
Points
mentation
normal
1
abnormal
0
respiratory rate
normal
1
abnormal
0
dsypnea
absent
1
present
0
need for airway support
absent
1
present
0
hypotension
absent
1
present
0
total score =
= SUM(points for all 5 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 5
• A patient with a score of 4 or 5 is safe to discharge from the ED at 8 hours.
Performance:
• The area under the ROC curve is 0.81.
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