PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast

In this episode, we tackle the clinical mischief of Parvovirus B19, a common viral infection with a surprisingly wide range of manifestations—from the classic “slapped cheek” rash of erythema infectiosum to aplastic crises in children with hemolytic anemias and fetal hydrops in pregnant contacts. We’ll break down the virology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, and complications of Parvovirus B19. You’ll also learn how to manage exposures in the emergency department, especially when the child has a pregnant caregiver, and why isolation isn’t always necessary once the rash shows up. Learning Objectives Describe the classic and atypical clinical presentations of Parvovirus B19 infection in pediatric patients, including erythema infectiosum, arthropathy, transient aplastic crisis, and chronic anemia in immunocompromised hosts. Understand the epidemiology and transmission timeline of Parvovirus B19, especially its seasonal peaks and viral shedding period. Recognize key diagnostic features that help differentiate Parvovirus B19 from other viral exanthems and systemic illnesses. Formulate an evidence-based management plan for patients with suspected or confirmed Parvovirus B19, including those with underlying hemolytic disease or immunocompromise. Counsel families and caregivers—including pregnant household contacts—on the risks, exposures, and infection control considerations related to Parvovirus B19. Connect with Brad Sobolewski PEMBlog: PEMBlog.com Blue Sky: @bradsobo X (Twitter): @PEMTweets Instagram: Brad Sobolewski Mastodon: @bradsobo@med-mastodon.com References Jordan, Jeanne A. “Treatment and Prevention of Parvovirus B19 Infection.” UpToDate, Jun. 14, 2024. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/treatment-and-prevention-of-parvovirus-b19-infection Edwards, Morven S. “Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis of Parvovirus B19 Infection.” UpToDate, Jun. 14, 2024. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis-of-parvovirus-b19-infection Macri, Angela, and Crane, Jonathan S. “Parvoviruses.” StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, Jun. 28, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482245/ Kostolansky, Sean, and Waymack, James R. “Erythema Infectiosum.” StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, Jul. 31, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513309/ “Parvovirus B19 Infection and Pregnancy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/parvovirusb19/pregnancy.html Transcript Note: This transcript was partially completed with the use of the Descript AI and the Chat GPT 4o AI Welcome to PEMCurrents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast. As always, I’m your host, Brad Sobolewski, and today we are covering Parvovirus B19—a common but clinically diverse viral infection that you will definitely encounter in pediatrics, and not just in the form of a rash. Parvovirus B19 is best known for causing fifth disease, but in certain patients it can lead to some serious complications like aplastic crises, fetal hydrops, or chronic anemia. So as you can see, this virus does a lot of stuff. But what is it? Well, let’s get nerdy. It is a non-enveloped, single-stranded DNA virus in the Parvoviridae family. There are some forms of parvo that infect other mammals, but Parvovirus B19 is only for humans, and it loves erythroid progenitor cells. It was discovered by accident back in 1975, so a little bit before I was born, and it was labeled B19 because of the sample number in a Hepatitis B screening panel. Since then it has been identified as the cause of several syndromes. I’ll go over those as we move along here. Parvovirus B19 is spread via respiratory droplets, much less commonly by blood products or vertical transmission. The incubation period is typically four to fourteen days. Viremia peaks at days five through ten after exposure, and that’s when the patient is most contagious. The classic rash and joint symptoms appear later, and at that point, the patient is actually no longer infectious. So that detail’s key—because when a kid shows up with a slapped cheeks rash, you no longer need to isolate them. So the classic presentation that’s on every board exam ever is called erythema infectiosum, or fifth disease. This is the most well-known manifestation, seen primarily in school-aged children, especially in the spring and early summer. Again, it’s also known as fifth disease—this is one of the six classic childhood exanthems. These are a group of viral rash-causing illnesses that were originally numbered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries based on their order of description. So: first disease was measles or rubeola, which obviously we don’t see as much anymore. Second disease was scarlet fever from group A Streptococcus. Third disease was rubella, or German measles. Fourth disease was Dukes’ disease, now believed to be a misclassified form of scarlet fever or staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. Fifth disease is erythema infectiosum caused by Parvovirus B19. Sixth disease is roseola infantum, caused by HHV-6, and sometimes HHV-7. Honestly, fifth disease is a historical happenstance—and I just think it’s fun to know that. Sometimes I share it with patients and families. Here’s how it typically plays out. Phase one is the viral prodrome. This occurs during peak viremia. About 50% of symptomatic patients experience nonspecific flu-like symptoms: low-grade fever, malaise, myalgias, headache, coryza, nausea, and sometimes even diarrhea. This lasts about two to three days. Phase two is the classic rash. This appears two to five days after the prodrome. You get an erythematous malar rash with circumoral pallor—the classic slapped cheeks appearance. You can also see a lacy, reticular rash on the trunk and extremities, which follows the slapped cheek rash about one to three days later. This rash can fade within a week or two, or it can wax and wane for weeks, especially worsening with sun, exercise, or stress. By the time the rash appears, viremia has resolved and the patient usually feels well. Only about 25% of infected individuals will have this classic rash syndrome. Another 50% will only have mild flu-like illness, and 25% remain completely asymptomatic. Let’s talk about the joint symptoms. These are seen in about one out of ten children. More commonly, adults—especially women—have joint symptoms, affecting up to 60% of them. Typically, joint symptoms are symmetric and affect the small joints of the hands, wrists, knees, and feet. The joint pains can last about one to three weeks. Chronic arthropathy occurs in a very small subset of patients and can last for months or more. Importantly, there’s no joint destruction—it hurts, but the joints are fine afterwards. A serious manifestation of Parvovirus B19 infection that you do not want to miss is called transient aplastic crisis. This occurs when Parvovirus B19 halts erythropoiesis in patients with underlying hemolytic disorders like sickle cell disease, thalassemia, or hereditary spherocytosis. In one study of just over 300 patients with homozygous sickle cell disease, Parvovirus B19 infection caused transient aplastic crisis about 80% of the time. Presenting symptoms are those of anemia: pallor, fatigue, tachycardia, weakness. You’ll often see a hemoglobin drop of greater than 30% from baseline, an undetectable reticulocyte count, and possibly leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. This often requires hospitalization and transfusion—in one series, 87% of children with transient aplastic crisis required packed red blood cell transfusions. In immunocompromised children, B19 can also cause chronic infection, with persistent viremia and pure red cell aplasia. You’ll see this in transplant patients, patients with leukemia, or advanced HIV. These patients don’t get rash or joint symptoms—those are immune-mediated—and these kids have compromised immune systems. Diagnosis is confirmed with PCR, often as part of a viral panel, or via characteristic bone marrow findings. Treatment is with IVIG and, if possible, reduction of immunosuppression, though this can be tricky. These patients often need admission and careful care. Let’s talk about fetal infection. Parvovirus B19 is not routinely screened for in pregnancy, but vertical transmission can cause hydrops fetalis, stillbirth, and severe fetal anemia. The risk is highest in the second trimester. The overall rate of fetal loss after maternal infection is around 2 to 6%, but it may be higher depending on timing and fetal response. Now, let’s talk about a wonderfully named manifestation: papular purpuric gloves and socks syndrome. This is why pediatrics is great—we have the best names for things. This is a rare manifestation of Parvovirus B19, often seen in adolescents or young adults. You get painful, pruritic petechiae and purpura of the hands and feet, with a sharp demarcation at the wrists and ankles. You may also see mucosal erosions. You’re probably thinking, this sounds like mycoplasma or other viral illnesses—and it does. But unlike fifth disease, patients are contagious when this rash appears. Finally, let’s talk about some rare neurologic complications. These include encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and brachial plexopathy. One review identified about 129 cases of parvovirus-related neurologic complications between 1970 and 2012, with encephalitis making up about two-thirds of those cases. These are rare, but something to keep in mind—especially if you’re in a large academic children’s hospital. So how do we diagnose Parvovirus B19? It’s usually a clinical diagnosis—especially in cases of typical erythema infectiosum. In more complicated cases or in immunocompromised children, you can check IgM antibodies (which appear about 7 to 10 days after exposure and peak at 2 to 3 weeks). IgG indicates past infection. PCR is most useful in immunocompromised patients or when evaluating possible fetal infection. Management of erythema infectiosum is supportive care only—antipyretics, hydration, and reassurance. The rash can be itchy; use moisturizers or antihistamines like cetirizine. Explain to families that the rash may last for days to weeks and can worsen with sunlight. I’ve seen a lot of visits in urgent care where this is the main concern during outbreaks. For joint symptoms, use NSAIDs. A patient with transient aplastic crisis will likely need hospitalization and red blood cell transfusion, especially if unstable. In immunosuppressed patients with chronic infection, treat with IVIG and carefully consider immunosuppressive management. What if the child has a pregnant caregiver? The child is most contagious **before** the rash appears—during the viral prodrome—so it’s easy to mistake for another virus. Once the rash appears, the child is no longer infectious. If a pregnant household contact was exposed during the contagious period—especially in the first or second trimester—they should contact their OB provider for serologic testing (IgG and IgM). If seronegative, serial ultrasound may be recommended to monitor for fetal hydrops. Isolation of the child is not necessary after the rash appears. If they are in the viremic phase, then hand hygiene and respiratory precautions are important to limit household spread. Take-home points: Parvovirus B19 can cause a range of presentations—from slapped cheeks to life-threatening anemia. It’s a clinical diagnosis, especially in typical cases. If you’re not familiar with the rash, look it up—so you’ll recognize it in the ED. In patients with red cell disorders or immunosuppression, use PCR or serology. Don’t miss a transient aplastic crisis in a child with sickle cell. And remember: once the rash appears, the child is no longer contagious. The virus spreads during the early, flu-like phase. Thank you for listening to this episode. If you found it helpful, let me know. Leave a review, shoot me a message on social media or email, and share it with your colleagues and learners. And as my 13-year-old would like to remind me: like and subscribe. For PEM Currents, this has been Brad Sobolewski. See you next time.

This episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast focuses on the approach to unvaccinated or undervaccinated children aged 3–36 months presenting to the ED with fever. Host Brad Sobolewski reviews differences in immune response, risk for serious and invasive bacterial infections, and outlines evaluation strategies including labs, imaging, and empiric antibiotics. He highlights data showing increased interventions in this population and calls for local guideline development. The episode emphasizes thoughtful, individualized care in the context of rising vaccine hesitancy and declining immunization rates. Learning Objectives Compare the clinical presentation of bacterial infections in unvaccinated and undervaccinated children versus fully immunized children in the Emergency Department Assess the need for empiric antibiotics and diagnostic testing in an unvaccinated or undervaccinated child presenting with fever without source Connect with Brad Sobolewski PEMBlog: PEMBlog.com Blue Sky: @bradsobo X (Twitter): @PEMTweets Instagram: Brad Sobolewski Mastodon: @bradsobo References Curtis M, Kanis J, Wagers B, et al. Immunization status and the management of febrile children in the pediatric emergency department: what are we doing? Pediatr Emerg Care. 2023;39(1):1-5. doi:10.1097/PEC.0000000000002864 Finkel L, Ospina-Jimenez C, Byers M, Eilbert W. Fever without source in unvaccinated children aged 3 to 24 months: what workup is recommended? Pediatr Emerg Care. 2021;37(12):e882-e885. doi:10.1097/PEC.0000000000002249 Herz AM, Greenhow TL, Alcantara J, et al. Changing epidemiology of outpatient bacteremia in 3- to 36-month-old children after the introduction of the heptavalent-conjugated pneumococcal vaccine. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2006;25(4):293-300. doi:10.1097/01.inf.0000207485.39112.bf Kaufman J, Fitzpatrick P, Tosif S, et al. Faster clean catch urine collection (Quick-Wee method) from infants: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2017;357:j1341. doi:10.1136/bmj.j1341 Kuppermann N, Fleisher GR, Jaffe DM. Predictors of occult pneumococcal bacteremia in young febrile children. Ann Emerg Med. 1998;31(6):679-687. doi:10.1016/S0196-0644(98)70225-2 Rutman MS, Bachur R, Harper MB. Radiographic pneumonia in young, highly febrile children with leukocytosis before and after universal conjugate pneumococcal vaccination. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2009;25(1):1-7. doi:10.1097/PEC.0b013e318191dab2 Trippella G, Galli L, De Martino M, Lisi C, Chiappini E. Procalcitonin performance in detecting serious and invasive bacterial infections in children with fever without apparent source: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2017;15(11):1041-1057. doi:10.1080/14787210.2017.1400907 Van den Bruel A, Thompson MJ, Haj-Hassan T, et al. Diagnostic value of laboratory tests in identifying serious infections in febrile children: systematic review. BMJ. 2011;342:d3082. doi:10.1136/bmj.d3082 Transcript Note: This transcript was partially completed with the use of the Descript AI  Welcome to PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine P odcast. As always, I’m your host, Brad Sobolewski, and this episode is gonna focus on a challenging yet. Unfortunately, timely clinical question, what do we do with the UN or under vaccinated child who presents to the emergency department with fever? So what are we gonna go over in this episode? Well, we’re gonna compare the clinical presentation of bacterial infections in unvaccinated and unvaccinated children versus fully immunized children in the emergency department, and we will assess the need for empiric antibiotics and diagnostic testing in this challenging population. Now, before you listen to this episode, I will presume that you are all familiar with the recommended child and adolescent immunization schedule for children ages 18 and younger in the United States or wherever you live. So I’ll pause for a moment so that you can review that. Great. Welcome back, and there’s a few definitions that I will use. Unvaccinated or unm. Immunized means that you have no vaccines. Unvaccinated or under immunized means that you have some but not all of your vaccines, and you should always verify vaccine status via history EMR records and state registries. So I think the first important question to answer is, when is a child immunocompetent? And honestly, competency is sort of on a sliding scale, and a child is immunocompetent if they have a normally functioning immune system capable of mounting an effective response to infections. So this means you have intact, innate and adaptive immunity with functioning neutrophils, macrophages, T cells, and B cells. You don’t have. Severe combined immunodeficiency like a primary immunodeficiency or a secondary immunodeficiency. You’re on chemo or you’re severely malnourished. Immunocompetent kids respond to vaccines completely immunized, so greater than two doses of PCV and HIB should be immunocompetent against those bugs. Unvaccinated or under vaccinated children are functionally immunocompromised in specific clinical scenarios such as fever without source. And it can be hard to figure out what immuno competency by disease and vaccine status really means. And so I do encourage you to be familiar with some of the information provided by the CDC as long as it’s still online. So how common is it for children to be unvaccinated in the United States? Unfortunately. It’s getting more common. So as of the 2023-24 school year, about 3.3% of US kindergartners had an exemption from one or more required vaccines. That data is up versus 2022. 2023 translates to about 80,000 kids in the United States, and vaccination coverage varies across states. So in the 2023-24 school year. MMR coverage was 79.6% in Idaho, and 98.3% in wild, wonderful West Virginia. 14 states reported exemption rates greater than 5% and in generally 95% vaccination rate for diseases needed for herd immunity. And we often wonder is the question of, well, is your kid’s vaccines up to date? A good enough question, and let’s be honest, many of us just rely on adult caregivers to give us this information. Is your kid up to date on shots? Yeah, sure. I’ve had a few where up to date meant we were up to date in our decision to stop vaccinating them three years ago. EMR confirmation and state records are better and all 50 states, district of Columbia and some US territories do have immunization information systems. And I’d encourage you to be familiar with and sign up for accounts on all of the different states that you work in. So for me, that’s Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. How often do we see UN or under vaccinated kids in the ed? And unsurprisingly, this number is not known. I asked some ID experts and we haven’t broadly assessed our rate, and we could do this, but it would take really a manual query of state vaccine records for any patient that doesn’t have vaccine status in the EMR. And it would be timely and laborious though. Interesting. In Indiana, Curtis et al did a retrospective review of almost 800 well-appearing febrile children three to 36 months throughout 2019, presenting in one Indiana pediatric emergency department, and they were really looking at vaccine status. They excluded children with complex chronic illnesses like sickle cell disease, congenital heart disease, immunodeficiency, trach vent, et cetera, and they also excluded kids with an ill appearance or hemodynamic instability during that encounter. They learned that 91.5% of their patients were fully vaccinated, five and a half percent were under vaccinated, and 3% were unvaccinated. Does that data match what you’ve seen and Yes, we don’t know the true scope of the problem. I. But I think perhaps a more important question is whether or not unvaccinated or unvaccinated children are more at risk for non-vaccine preventable illnesses. Clearly they’re at risk for vaccine preventable illnesses ’cause they don’t have the vaccine. And so in this episode, I’m gonna focus mainly on children three to 36 months of age with fever for less than five days. And I will say that the approach to an unvaccinated febrile child may differ from fully immunized children due to an increased risk of occult bacteremia and invasive bacterial infections. The child’s immune system matures both with and without vaccines. Maternal immunity wanes by about three to six months until 36 months to maybe five years. The adaptive immune system is still developing. And kids are less capable of mounting an effective response to encapsulated bacteria like streptococcus pneumonia. Haemophilus influenza type B RIA meningitis. By age five, we have developed more robust natural immunity from subclinical exposures to bacteria cumulatively. And so as long as you have a working immune system and a spleen that does what it’s supposed to do, different pathogens become more relevant, so you lose risk to encapsulated bacteria and you’ll see more mycoplasma pneumonia, streptococcus pyogenes. And others, and at least for the context of this episode, I’m gonna be talking about fever without a source. And now maybe we’re excluding fever for an hour, which we’ve all seen in the emergency department, but it really means. When a complete history and physical examination cannot identify a specific source of fever greater than 39 centigrade or 102.2 Fahrenheit in a previously healthy otherwise well-appearing child. Now, that threshold for 39 degrees could also be extrapolated to 40 degrees, and it’s relevant to literature and both the pre PCV and HIB era and in the post PCV and HIB era. But for simplicity’s sake, and based on the evidence that we do have, I’ll set that threshold at 39 degrees Celsius for this episode. These children are at risk for occult infection such as UTI bacteremia and occult pneumonia. However, the majority of children who are well appearing and have no identifiable source of infection do have a self-limited viral illness. And in all of these kids, you gotta assess vaccine status, travel history, sick contacts, any immune compromise, and any symptoms of localizable bacterial infection to evaluate the risk of serious illness. So serious bacterial infection defined as any bacterial infection requiring medical intervention, but it may not invade sterile sites. It’s like a UTI pneumonia skin and soft tissue infections like cellulitis and abscess. An invasive bacterial infection is a subset of serious bacterial infection where the bacteria gets into sterile body sites like blood and CSF. It’s bacteremia, meningitis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, and. Let’s be honest, fever is still the most common complaint for infants and children brought to the ed. It’s greater than 6% of all ED visits. Most of these kids under 36 months will have some clinically apparent source of infection, even like a obvious URI or otitis media, and about one out of five of these children though a source cannot be identified during the h and p. Certainly any child who’s ill appearing or has unstable vitals should be managed for presumed sepsis or septic shock, and that’s not the focus of this podcast episode in well Appearing Children with Fever. The main goal is to determine the risk of a clinically occult bacterial infection. I. So with that, let’s run through a few of these common bacterial infections. So let’s start with urinary tract infections. So this is the most common occult bacterial infection in febrile infants and young children. And children under the age of two. Fever may be the only symptom. The prevalence is roughly eight to 10% in young children with fever. Greater than 39 Celsius. Risk factors include age, female sex circumcision status. You should definitely use UTI calc. To help estimate the risk and the presence of another infection, like URI. Acute otitis media or gastro doesn’t completely rule out UTI, but in select scenarios like bronchiolitis with RSV, it does reduce the risk a bit. Females, three to 24 months with fever greater than 39 and no source, the risk could be as high as about 5%. Uncircumcised. Males with high fever and no source probably have a similar risk to females, but circumcised males have a risk of 2% or under. You should also think about testing if there’s been fever for greater than 48 hours. If there’s history of UTI or any known GU anomaly, even like hypos, SPADs, and you can cath, you can clean catch, you can use the quick wee maneuver or even a super pubic aspiration which parents don’t like. Alright, let’s talk about occult bacteremia. And honestly, when we talk about this topic, it’s the thing that we worry the most about. It’s the presence of bacteria in the blood of a febrile, well appearing child in the absence of an identifiable focal bacterial source of infection. So in the pre HIB and Prevnar era, this was like three to 11% of febrile children. Streptococcus pneumonia made up 73 to 90% of these, and HIB made up eight to 22%. Hib was way more likely to cause meningitis. In fact, in 5% of bacteremia, kids with hib, they had meningitis. Really high rate. In the post vaccine era, the rate of occult bacteremia is. Point two five to 1%, so it’s less than 1%. A third of these are e coli. A third are non-vaccine serotype, streptococcus pneumonia, and the other third are staph aureus, salmonella species, RIA meningitis, and strep pyogenes. Interestingly, both then and now, 95% of occult bacteremia is caused by strep pneumo resolve without IV antibiotics. These are all well appearing kids in which this happens, so we actually probably never know that some of these kids have it. There’s a higher risk of occult bacteremia in children younger than four months of age, children with high fever, 39 or 40, and unvaccinated, and we’ll talk about labs in a little bit, but elevated white count A and C procalcitonin band count. These are all things that can be used to assess the risk. In preparation for this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to some folks that practiced in the pre HIB and Prevnar vaccine era, and what they told me was interesting. They said that. Ultimately you could reduce a kid’s fever and that still didn’t reduce the risk of them having bacteremia. So they still had to work these kids up. But if the kid looked great after they responded to Antipyretics, well, they probably didn’t have meningitis. I. And so I alluded to this a couple minutes ago, but, uh, let’s talk about lab characteristics for oc cult bacteremia in the post vaccine era. Let’s start with the CB, C and differential. And yes, we all know that CBC is not a good indicator of whether the child has a bacterial infection or not, but in this specific population, based on the available research, a white blood cell count greater than 15,000 does have a sensitivity of 72%. And a specificity of 55%. This is based on one study from Hertz in, uh, pediatric infectious disease, and in their study though, the rate of a true positive blood culture was 1.6% and the contaminant rate was 1.8%. Interesting. A NC per Cooperman, etal and Annals of Emergency Medicine in 1998 of greater than 10,000 was a slightly better indicator and absolute band count of greater than 1500. It’s also been suggested. None of these are perfect. So what about procalcitonin? And I know it’s not available everywhere, but it probably does have a better. A test characteristic than white blood cell count and a NC. Generally, the threshold is set at 0.5 nanogram per milliliter, but some sites suggest the threshold of greater than two and trella in the expert. A review in of anti infectious therapy journal in 2017 noted that it had a sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 86%, and a positive likelihood ratio of six. And Van den Bruel in BMJ 2011 found procalcitonin to have better specificity than white blood cell count. Now let’s talk about pneumonia. So most children but bacterial pneumonia have some sort of abnormality. On exam. In pro-vaccine era studies, 20 to 40% of three to 36 month old with fever greater than 39, and no clinical evidence of pneumonia, but with a white blood cell count greater than 20,000 actually had low bar or segmental pneumonia on a chest x-ray. In a study published in pediatric emergency care in 2009, Rutman and colleagues in a retrospective cohort of children less than five found that in comparison, occult pneumonia was identified more often. Pre PCV. Then post PCV, so about 15% to 9% in kids younger than two, though the rate was higher. Pro-vaccine era, 17% and post vaccine era at 10%. So in the UN or under vaccinated kid with a temp greater than 39. If you get a white blood cell count and it’s greater than 20,000, you should get a chest x-ray, even if the kid has a normal lung exam. And now let’s talk about blood cultures and. How many of you have heard from a nurse? Well, while, I’m getting the line. Why don’t I just draw a blood culture? So it’s either okay in these children to send it right away or to hold it until you get the labs back. And I think I would consult local practice variation, um, and what your colleagues do and the risk of contamination will not increase while the blood culture sits if it was obtained correctly. And every hospital’s lab is different, but some of the bacteria that are considered common contaminants include bacillus. corynebacterium, cutie bacterium acnes, which was p acnes and micrococcus. Other contaminants include staphylococcus epidermis and the reins group. As long as the patient doesn’t have any risk of endocarditis, any other bug that grows. We’re talking staph aureus, strep pneumonia, strep pyogenes, enterococcus, e coli. These are all probably true pathogens. Let’s say a blood culture is sent and then it comes back positive. So these kids should, in most cases, especially if it’s suspected to be a real pathogen, be reevaluated in the emergency department. If kids are febrile at reevaluation, there’s a 40% chance of persistent bacteremia. And if they’re ill appearing about a one in 25 or 4% chance of meningitis. So these kids, if they’re ill appearing in febrile still, they need a full sepsis evaluation plus an LP iv antibiotics and admission. I. If they’re afebrile reevaluation, probably only about a 9% chance of persistent bacteremia. And though we don’t know the exact numbers, that risk might be a little bit higher in unvaccinated children. So you can repeat the blood culture in labs and these well appearing kids, but you don’t necessarily have to tap them a positive blood culture for nisia meningitis, HIB gram-negative rods, or other pathogens. Well, these always deserve a full sepsis workup. LP IV antibiotics and admission. If the kid’s afebrile and well appearing and they’re more than three months of age and they’re positive for e coli or staph aureus, they might not need an LP consult your local practice variations. Um, and any kid with group B streptococcus bacteremia, who’s three to six months of age definitely needs an LP and admission, and that only scratches the surface. Admittedly, um, this can be a complex topic, so I would consult your local ID recommendations and hospital practice to determine what you should do based on what grows in your culture. I think now that we’ve talked about occult infections in some of the labs, you may be wondering, broadly speaking, do UN or under vaccinated children actually have more stuff done to them in the ed? And the answer is probably, but we actually don’t know the broad answer. And so going back to that original study from Indiana, these kids that were. Not fully immunized, so UN or under vaccinated, were 83% more likely to get an intervention and 99% more likely to receive an antibiotic prescription, a discharge. So this included all sorts of interventions, like blood testing, urine studies, chest radiographs. So ask yourself, what do you do if a kid is on or under vaccinated? Has a fever greater than 39, and is three to 36 months of age, are you working ’em up? What do your colleagues do? Do you have a practice guideline where you work? In fact, is there a consensus guideline for the management of the UN or under vaccinated child with fever? And the answer to that unfortunately is no. No, there is not. Not from the A A P, not from the Infectious Disease Society of America, not in Red Book, not anywhere. So I’m gonna suggest one possible way to work these kids up with the caveat being that again, there’s no consensus, so. For a child with fever greater than 39 degrees centigrade, who is well appearing, but unvaccinated or under vaccinated, who is between three to 36 months of age, you might want to consider getting procalcitonin CBC with differential urinalysis and urine culture if they meet the risk factors. And again, I would use UTI calc for that. Any viral detection assays that you deem necessary. And you can draw blood culture and send immediately or send after the procalcitonin or CB, C results. So if the white blood cell count is greater than 20,000, regardless of the physical exam, you should get a two of you chest x-ray to assess for occult pneumonia. If the procalcitonin. Is greater than 0.5. The white blood cell count is greater than 15,000. The a NC is greater than 10,000 and or the absolute band count is greater than 1,500. Then you should send the blood culture if you haven’t already done so and give empiric antibiotics against streptococcus pneumonia. For most patients, this should be ceftriaxone 50 milligram per kilogram intramuscular. This depot version of antibiotics will provide coverage for 24 hours. It’s not the same as giving an IV dose. So yes, this is an IM dose. If they have an allergy to cephalosporins, you can give Clindamycin 10 milligram per kilogram iv followed by the first oral dose. Eight hours later. Add UTI. Treatment is warranted based on your testing. If all of those labs. Are below those thresholds, then antibiotics are not recommended unless the urinalysis says otherwise. So after the labs are back, you reassess the patient. Are they well appearing? Are they well hydrated and demonstrating good oral intake? Do they have a parent, guardian or caregiver that has no significant social barriers and. Can they follow up with their primary care doctor or at your facility within 24 to 48 hours? If yes to all of those, you can send them home. If not, eh, you should probably admit them to the hospital. I. Now again, this is just one way to consider working up the unvaccinated or unvaccinated child age three to 36 months of age, who is well appearing with fever greater than 39 degrees Celsius for less than five days. This is not the official recommendation of my hospital or any that I know of, and I hope this inspires you to develop your own practice patterns and perhaps more importantly, have conversations locally where you work about better defining. How we evaluate and manage these children because unfortunately. Their ranks are increasing. Well, I hope you found this episode on the approach to the unvaccinated and unvaccinated child with fever in the ed thought provoking. I hope it helps sharpen your thinking and clinical decision making and inspires you to have conversations locally about your practice patterns in these vulnerable children. If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to like, subscribe, leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Billy helps other folks find the show. You got feedback. Send it my way. I’ll take it over social media. I’ll take it via comments. I’ll take it via email, as always, for PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, this has been Brad Sobolewski. See you next time.

In this episode we dive into the resurgence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae—an atypical bacterial cause of community-acquired pneumonia that’s making waves in pediatric emergency medicine. We’ll cover its clinical presentation, epidemiology, diagnostic approach, and management, including why standard beta-lactam antibiotics won’t work. Plus, we’ll discuss whether M. pneumoniae even needs to be treated in the first place! Learning Objectives Describe the clinical presentation, epidemiology, and complications of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in pediatric patients, including its atypical manifestations. Differentiate Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia from typical bacterial and viral pneumonia based on history, physical exam findings, and diagnostic testing. Assess the current evidence for antibiotic treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and justify treatment decisions based on patient presentation, severity, and potential complications. Connect with Brad Sobolewski PEMBlog: PEMBlog.com Blue Sky: @bradsobo X (Twitter): @PEMTweets Instagram: Brad Sobolewski Mastodon: @bradsobo References Vallejo, Jesus G. “Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection in Children.” UpToDate, 1 Nov. 2024, www.uptodate.com/contents/mycoplasma-pneumoniae-infection-in-children. Garcia T, Florin TA, Leonard J, Shah SS, Ruddy RM, Wallihan R, Desai AP, Alter S, El-Assal O, Marzec S, Keaton M, Yun KW, Leber AL, Mejias A, Cohen DM, Ramilo O, Ambroggio L; Children’s Hospitals Initiative for Research in Pneumonia (CHIRP). Clinical Features and Management Strategies in Children With Mycoplasma Pneumoniae. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2025 Feb 17. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000003338. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39960098. Gao L, Sun Y. Laboratory diagnosis and treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children: a review. Ann Med. 2024 Dec;56(1):2386636. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2386636. Epub 2024 Aug 3. PMID: 39097794; PMCID: PMC11299444. Shah SS. Mycoplasma pneumoniae as a Cause of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Children. Clin Infect Dis 2019; 68:13. “Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infections Have Been Increasing.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 Oct. 2024, www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/mycoplasma-pneumoniae-infections-have-been-increasing.html. Transcript Note: This transcript was partially completed with the use of the Descript AI  Welcome to PEMCurrents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast. As always, I’m your host, Brad Sobolewski, and today we’re focusing on a pathogen that has been making waves in pediatric emergency departments across the country. Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Whether you know it or not, you’ve likely seen a surge where you work. Patients are presenting with community acquired pneumonia that isn’t responding to standard beta lactam antibiotics, or with parents who are just concerned that their child has walking pneumonia. That’s because mycoplasma pneumonia is just a little bit different than most of the pathogens that we deal with in children. So let’s dive in. So, what is it? Microbiology lecture. Warning, med school trigger. Uh, so Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a small, obligate intracellular bacterium and it lacks a cell wall. So that’s why it doesn’t respond to beta lactam antibiotics like penicillin and amoxicillin and cephalosporins. Instead, it requires macrolides, tetracyclines, or fluoroquinolones for treatment. It’s spread via respiratory droplets and thrives in crowded environments such as schools and daycare centers. It binds to the epithelial cells in the upper and lower respiratory tract, triggering an immune response that leads to mucosal damage, increased mucus production, and impaired gas exchange. So mycoplasma pneumonia infections have been on the rise, especially in children. After a lull during the COVID 19 pandemic, cases reemerged in 2023 and continued to climb into 2024. Historically, mycoplasma pneumonia has been most common in children aged 5 to 17 years and young adults. But what’s new is that we’ve seen a striking increase in infections among children aged 2 to 4. Per the CDC, diagnosed mycoplasma infections increased steadily through the summer of 2024, peaking in August for 2 to 4 year olds and 5 to 17 year old age groups. There’s also been an increase in diagnosis in those under 12 months of age. This is all notable because these infections have historically been thought to affect school aged children much, much more than younger children. All right, let’s talk about clinical features. So the incubation period for mycoplasma pneumonia can be around two to three weeks. Symptoms often start gradually, with fever, headache, malaise, and sore throat, preceding the onset of a persistent dry cough. Unlike classic or typical bacterial pneumonia, which has abrupt onset in focal lung findings, mycoplasma pneumonia patients often present with a prolonged worsening cough that can persist for weeks to months. The name walking pneumonia was coined because people with this mild form of respiratory infection can still walk around and do their normal activities. It’s attributed to, but not exclusive to, mycoplasma disease. Now some patients can develop severe pulmonary complications, fortunately those are rare. These include respiratory failure, pleural effusions, necrotizing pneumonia, and pyema. Beyond the lungs, mycoplasma pneumonia is a weird bug, and it can also cause some extra pulmonary manifestations. So you can get mucocutaneous disease, including erythema multiforme. and mycoplasma induced rash and mucositis, also known as RIME, and even Stevens Johnson syndrome. Patients can get joint pain, you can have a hemolytic anemia due to IgM antibodies causing an autoimmune hemolysis, or even neurological complications such as meningoencephalitis, seizures, transverse myelitis, or even Guillain Barre syndrome. Alright, so making the diagnosis starts with having a firm understanding of bacterial versus viral etiologies of pneumonia. And generally, we should make this diagnosis clinically. So typical bacterial pneumonia, like streptococcus pneumoniae, is more likely when symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, and focal chest pain start abruptly. These patients often have respiratory distress or tachypnea and focal lung findings like rails or crackles or decreased breath sounds. A typical bacterial pneumonia, like mycoplasma pneumonia, presents with a gradual onset of fever, headache, malaise, sore throat, followed by the worsening non productive cough. It’s often accompanied by wheezing and or rails, and fever and illness are typically milder. than in the classic bacterial pneumonia. Now viral pneumonia, which is also all over the place, and due to RSV, parainfluenza, influenza, adenovirus, and more, is more common in children under 5 years of age. The cough develops gradually following an upper respiratory tract infection, and lung findings are diffuse and bilateral, often with wheezing. Think of viral pneumonia like bronchiolitis, but in a preschooler instead of a baby. And so while mycoplasma pneumonia is often a clinical diagnosis based on presentation, there is some confirmatory testing. PCR testing of the nasopharynx, or throat, is highly sensitive and specific. You can get serology, which will detect IgM and IgG antibodies. It’s useful, but it takes longer to result. The caveat of these serologic tests is that There’s probably a lot of seropositivity without symptoms in the general population. So basically, many people could have positive mycoplasma without symptoms. There are no distinguishing features on blood labs like CBC and blood culture, which are generally not necessary in these patients unless they’re critically ill. And the chest x ray findings, if you need them, will typically show bilateral patchy infiltrates, though some cases can have unilateral lobar consolidations. So as you might imagine, chest x rays aren’t as useful as you’d think in diagnosing mycoplasma. When it comes to management, first and foremost, supportive care. Treat fever, ensure adequate hydration, and provide respiratory support as needed, like if kids need oxygen, that sort of stuff. Cough suppressants and cough medicines are generally ineffective and no better than honey, and really not recommended in many age groups, but if you’ve got a middle schooler or teenager and parents want to try it, eh, have at it. Or don’t. Before I talk about antibiotics, I do want to bring up the question as to whether or not we actually have to treat mycoplasma in the first place. Studies supporting antibiotic treatment of documented mycoplasma pneumoniae in children are limited. Supports provided predominantly by in vitro studies, a randomized trial in military recruits, and some observational studies in which inclusion of mycoplasma pneumoniae specific therapy was associated with a decreased risk of treatment failure. So, whether that’s a change in antimicrobial therapy or a hospital admission, or length of stay in children with community acquired pneumonia, but they didn’t have etiologic data in that study. There was a systematic review of 17 studies, including 4, 294 patients, where they found insufficient evidence for the efficacy of antimicrobial treatment of mycoplasma pneumonia, lower respiratory tract infection in children less than 17 years of age. There was publication bias, heterogeneity, and lack of blinding. We also don’t know whether administration of antibiotics decreases the incidence or severity of associated mucocutaneous disease. And I’m not even going to get into pans or pandas here. I can’t bear it. So, yes, I’m going to talk about antibiotics. But consider this scenario, you’ve got a kid, cough and wheezing, you think it’s a virus, maybe it actually is mycoplasma, there’s a good chance they’ll be fine anyway, even if you don’t treat it. So yes, think of mycoplasma pneumoniae, but don’t make it your sole focus when you’re really just dealing with viral pneumonia in a lot of kids. Okay, the first line treatment is azithromycin. The ZBA is actually all right, so it’s 10 milligram per kilogram in one dose, max dose of 500 milligrams. That could be orally or IV on the first day, and then five milligram per kilogram in one dose. Maximum dose of 250 milligrams for the next four days. If azithro is unavailable, or in the case of an allergy, you could use doxycycline two to four mgs per kg per day, orally or iv. in one or twice daily dosing. The max daily dose is 200 milligrams, and it’s done for seven days. Compared with other tetracycline antibiotics, doxy is much less likely to cause permanent tooth discoloration in young children, and it can be given safely for less than 21 days to children of all ages. Tetracycline for kids greater than eight years of age, and azithromycin are also options, but azithromycin has lots of GI side effects. For immunocompromised children, especially with previous exposure to macrolides, fluoroquinolones like levofloxacin are an alternative initial agent. Fluoroquinolones are bacteriocidal rather than bacteriostatic, and the dosing for levofloxacin varies according to age. So greater than six months but less than five years. Levofloxacin is 8 10 mg per kg per dose orally or IV every 12 hours. The max total daily dose is 750 mg and you treat for 7 10 days. For kids older than 5 years, you do Levofloxacin 10 mg per kg per dose once per day orally or IV. And that max dose is again, 750 milligrams per day for seven to 10 days. All right, so let’s talk about some take home points. So mycoplasma pneumonia is back with a vengeance after the COVID 19 pandemic, and it is affecting younger children more than ever before, especially kids, two to four years of age. For most patients, it is a clinical diagnosis. You should think about it, though, in kids with classic presentations, or in a child who has failed treatment with beta lactams for a presumed community acquired pneumonia. And don’t fear the Z Pak, right? If you diagnose mycoplasma pneumonia, macrolides and zithromycin are the first line treatment. Fluoroquinolones are good for immunocompromised children. Mycoplasma can cause extrapulmonary disease. So, go online and look up some pictures of the mucocutaneous manifestations. There are also hematologic and neurologic complications. And keep an eye on outbreaks and community trends. The epidemiology is shifting, and infections are rising, so your hospital should have a local plan to deal with infection in your community. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you found it helpful, let me know. Leave a review, send a message on social media or email, and share it with your colleagues and learners. And as always, as my 13 year old would say, don’t forget to like and subscribe. For PEMCurrents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, this has been Brad Sobolewski. See you next time.

In this episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, we explore the complex and often underrecognized issue of inhalant misuse. From the early days of glue sniffing to the recent rise of nitrous oxide misuse, fueled by brands like Galaxy Gas and viral trends on TikTok and Instagram, inhalant misuse has evolved into a growing concern among adolescents. We’ll dive into the clinical presentations, including acute and chronic symptoms, the dangers of “sudden sniffing death,” and the specific risks associated with nitrites, hydrocarbons, and nitrous oxide. Learn how to recognize and manage cases in the emergency department, ask the right questions to uncover inhalant use, and provide critical resources for prevention and support. Whether you’re a seasoned pediatrician or new to emergency medicine, this episode offers essential insights into tackling this hidden epidemic. Learning Objectives By the end of this episode, listeners will be able to: Recognize the clinical signs and symptoms of inhalant misuse, including acute intoxication and long-term complications. Differentiate between the risks and toxic effects associated with specific inhalants, such as hydrocarbons, nitrites, and nitrous oxide. Formulate effective strategies for identifying, managing, and preventing inhalant misuse in pediatric patients. Connect with Brad Sobolewski PEMBlog: PEMBlog.com Blue Sky: @bradsobo X (Twitter): @PEMTweets Instagram: Brad Sobolewski Mastodon: @bradsobo References Perry H, Burns MM. Inhalant misuse in children and adolescents. UpToDate. Ganetsky M (ed). Updated February 26, 2024. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/inhalant-misuse-in-children-and-adolescents Hogge RL, Spiller HA, Kistamgari S, et al. Inhalant misuse reported to America’s Poison Centers, 2001-2021. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2023; 61:453. Marcus E. The next drug epidemic is blue raspberry flavored: How Galaxy Gas became synonymous with the country’s burgeoning addiction to gas. Intelligencer. Published January 6, 2025. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/galaxy-gas-flavored-nitrous-oxide-drug-epidemic.html Transcript Note: This transcript was partially completed with the use of the Descript AI  Welcome to PEMCurrents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast. As always, I’m your host, Brad Sobolewski, and today we’re diving into an important topic, inhalant misuse, with a special focus on nitrous oxide. Welcome Recently, there’s been a concerning rise in recreational use of nitrous oxide, often referred to as Galaxy Gas, which is actually a brand name, which has become synonymous with flavored nitrous oxide products. Even as that brand, Galaxy Gas, is being phased out of the market, its legacy persists, fueled in part by its viral presence on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. So, this episode is going to break down the symptoms, clinical presentations, and management of inhalant misuse in children and adolescents with a specific eye on how these trends are shaping a new wave of cases presenting to the ED across the globe. So, what are inhalants? Well, these are volatile substances that you’re not meant to breathe in. They produce vapors, which, when you inhale them, cause psychoactive effects. They include everyday household items like glue, paint thinner, and gasoline, as well as recreational substances such as nitrous oxide, often referred to as whippets or galaxy gas. Interestingly, when these are sold, either online or in physical stores, they’re marketed As additives to make your own whipped cream at home. The people that sell them in stores are told to specifically not refer to them as whippets or to refer to them as a drug. Oh no, they’re only for cooking. The customers and the people selling them know otherwise. Anyway, the recreational use of nitrous or whippets, it’s been around since the late 18th century, uh, when it was used in laughing gas parties among the immigrants. English elite. Fast forward to today, and nitrous remains one of the most commonly misused inhalants. It’s evolved from its medical and industrial applications to a recreational substance with a significant cultural footprint. And let’s face it, the prevalence of this inhalant misuse is concerning. In the US, about 11 percent of high school students have used inhalants at least once. And what’s striking is that inhalant use peaks in younger adolescents, particularly those in like 7th through 9th grades, middle schoolers. making it one of the earliest substances that are misused among young people. So, these inhalants are often used through sniffing, huffing, or bagging. Sniffing involves inhaling the fumes directly from the container. Huffing uses a cloth soaked with the substance. And bagging, or perhaps ballooning, involves inhaling fumes from a bag or balloon placed over the nose and mouth. So you decant the substance from the canister into a balloon, and then you inhale that into your mouth. The latter dramatically increases the risk of asphyxia. The mechanism of action is rapid and profound. These substances are absorbed through the lungs and distributed to the brain, where they act on GABA and glutamate receptors. The primary effects are euphoria, dizziness, and disorientation. They’re felt within seconds and last 15 to 30 minutes or less. And. Patients that use these will repeatedly use it throughout the day. You can either get one little individual canister of nitrous, or a big canister which costs about 120 to 120. Repeated use can sustain that intoxication. So the symptoms of inhalant misuse are important to recognize. So first and foremost are the neurological symptoms. Euphoria, ataxia, disorientation, and slurred speech are common in acute intoxication. Chronic misuse can be devastating and unfortunately we don’t know how much, or how long, or how frequent leads to these symptoms. But nevertheless, they’re pretty darn bad. It includes cerebellar dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy, and toxic leukoencephalopathy, which manifests as white matter degeneration visible on MRI. Basically, misuse of this stuff can paralyze you. The cardiovascular symptoms include sudden sniffing death syndrome, which is the generation of a fatal arrhythmia, which is particularly dangerous with halogenated hydrocarbons. Pulmonary symptoms include hypoxia, reactive airway dysfunction, and in severe cases, pulmonary edema or even a pneumothorax. Glue sniffer’s rash is a hallmark skin finding. It presents as erythema and inflammation around the mouth and nose. and nose. Chronic users may also see weight loss, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and metabolic abnormalities like hypokalemia and acidosis, especially if they’re misusing toluene, which is fortunately less common. Further complicating matters is that each inhalant has its own special risks. Hydrocarbons, again found in solvents and glue, can lead to cranial neuropathy, cerebellar dysfunction, and cardiac arrhythmias. Chronic misuse of these results in profound hypokalemia and metabolic acidosis. Nitrous oxide, so whippets or galaxy gas, interferes with vitamin B12 metabolism, so it can lead to polyneuropathy, myelopathy, and hyperhomocystinemia, which increases the risk of venous thromboembolism. Nitrites, which are known as poppers, can cause intense vasodilation and methemoglobinemia. with symptoms ranging from headache to cyanosis and seizures. So management, unfortunately, of inhalant intoxication is primarily supportive. Stabilization, you have to ensure that the patient is removed from the exposure source and administer 100 percent oxygen if they’re hypoxic. If the patient is unconscious and in a tachyarrhythmia, the treatment is electricity! Amiodarone or lidocaine on the palsgar rhythm and avoid catecholamines like epinephrine unless the patient’s in cardiac arrest. For nitrous oxide neurotoxicity, administer high dose vitamin B12 intramuscularly or subcutaneously. I would consult a toxicologist because I know that this is rare. And if you have a patient with methemoglobinemia, chances are you’re actually taking a board test, but you would treat that with IV methylene blue. In cases of toluene misuse, monitor and correct the electrolyte imbalances carefully, avoid dextrose, which can actually worsen the hypokalemia. Again, I would call a toxicologist for help from this, because fortunately, it’s very rare. And listen, this problem isn’t going anywhere. So pediatricians, Educators and parents all play a crucial role in prevention. Frankly, these should not be so accessible. They should not be able to be sold easily online or in physical smoke shops. Also, we need to advocate for federal regulation on these as controlled substances, because currently right now they’re not. Everybody knows the dance that the retailers play in saying, Oh yeah, you can use these to make whipped cream at home, but they are marketed with with flavoring in brightly colored containers and they are very attractive to young children. They’re piggybacking off the same strategies that made vaping and vape cartridges so popular. Students should be educated about the dangers of inhalants. That means both local advocacy in schools and in medical care settings, but also using some of the same techniques that made getting high off these popular, like social media. We’ve got to reduce access. and curiosity. Schools should definitely replace solvent based products with safer alternatives and monitor students for signs of misuse. For those already misusing inhalants, referral to a substance use disorder program is essential. Chronic complications often resolve with cessation, but addressing coexisting mental health problems and comorbidities such as depression and suicidality is equally important. Okay, I know that that was just a whiff of a topic that you may be only a little bit familiar with. But trust me, you’ve probably met a patient That’s huffing or inhaling, and you just haven’t known it. So it starts with asking patients about what they’re doing. A good old heads exam. So when asking patients about inhalant misuse, it’s important to create a non judgmental and supportive environment. Start with broad, open ended questions, and normalize them. Say that this is something that you ask all patients about. Ask about substance use, like vaping or alcohol, and then introduce inhalants by mentioning specific examples, such as sniffing glue, huffing spray paint, or using nitrous oxides like whippets or galaxy gas. Again, normalize that conversation by acknowledging curiosity or peer influence, especially on social media. And, if they do disclose use, ask gently about frequency, Context and any symptoms like dizziness, headaches, or worse, emphasize that your goal is to support their health, not to judge or punish and provide reassurance and resources if needed. Thank you for listening. Inate misuse is often overlooked, especially in pediatric emergency care settings, but if you’re vigilant and you’re informed, you can better serve our patients and manage complications. If you found this episode helpful, well let me know about it. Leave a review on your favorite podcast site that helps people discover the show, or you can reach out and contact me directly via email or social media. Share it with your colleagues and learners and subscribe for more episodes. For PEMCurrents, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, this has been Brad Sobolewski. See you next time.

In lieu of a traditional episode this holiday season I wanted to share a reading of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine version of a famous Christmas poem. Transcript ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and I’m working a shift, The symptoms were varied, the pace was quite swift. The screens glowed with orders, the rooms filled with care, In hopes that discharge summaries soon would be there. The nurses were moving with hustle and speed, While families recounted each child’s urgent need. And I at my computer, my coffee in hand, Prepared for the onslaught that none could have planned. When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter. Away to the triage I flew like a flash, Dodging spilled apple juice and a child with a rash. The ambulances were wailing, the scene quite a sight, As the complaints rolled in on this hectic night. When what to my weary eyes did appear, But a febrile infant, his parents in fear. A nursemaid’s elbow in need of a tug, And a kid with a cough wrapped tight in a hug. A forehead lac with blood streaming red, And a teen who proclaimed, “I think I’m half-dead!” With quick-thinking teamwork, the cases we tamed, And I whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now flu! Now croup! Now migraines and pain! On seizures! On sepsis! That ankle is sprained! To the trauma bay stat, through triage with speed, Move quickly, move calmly, and meet every need!” As the snow flakes that fall when wild winter winds fly, We hustled and triaged as new patients arrived. And then, in a twinkling, I heard down the hall, The sound of retching – a vomiting call. Ondansetron ordered, the nurse prepping the dose, I saw a pale toddler, looking morose. He was sick from his tummy to the tip of his nose, And the sounds of his misery steadily rose. His eyes were all sunken, his cheeks far too pale, But a popsicle bribe led to a triumphant exhale. The shift rolled along with splints left and right, Broken forearms galore on this holiday night. And ketamine laughter soon filled the air, As a lac repair finished with great skill and care. Abdominal pains brought more to the bays, With parents repeating, “He’s been sick for days.” A scan ruled out danger, the appendix intact, While the next patient arrived with an asthma attack. The hours wore on, the crowd didn’t cease, Yet amidst all the chaos, we found moments of peace. A mom’s grateful smile, a child’s sleepy yawn, Reminded us why we keep carrying on. So I sat at the computer and typed one last note, Cleared my inbox of tasks and the orders I wrote. And I heard myself whisper as I turned off the light, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a calm night!”

Dive into the world of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, and uncover its persistent public health challenges despite vaccination efforts. Learn about the disease's three distinct stages and key symptoms, especially in infants and older children. Discover effective management strategies, including supportive care and the importance of post-exposure prophylaxis. Additionally, the discussion highlights vaccination schedules and addresses concerns about vaccine hesitancy, all crucial for effective infection control in clinical settings.

Join an engaging exploration of gastroesophageal reflux and gastritis in children and adolescents. Discover the critical distinction between gastritis and dyspepsia and how it impacts diagnosis. Dive into the latest clinical guidelines and evidence-based treatments. Learn about the role of lifestyle changes in management and the use of various pharmacological options, including proton pump inhibitors and antacids. Unpack current controversies surrounding treatments and the significance of Helicobacter pylori in gastritis management.

This episode of PEM Currents discusses ECPR (Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), an advanced procedure used in cases of cardiac arrest when traditional CPR fails. ECPR involves using ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) to take over heart and lung functions, offering a last-resort option that is becoming more common in large pediatric hospitals. While ECPR shows promise in […]

Syphilis has gone by many nicknames over the years including “The Great Pretender” and “The Great Imitator.” Emily Labudde, MD, a Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellow at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and recent pediatric residency graduate from Cincinnati Children’s discusses the various manifestations of this sexually transmitted infection, and how we can’t miss this very treatable, […]

Cervical Spine Injuries are fortunately rare in children. this episode is all about learning when to suspect them, how to immobilize the C-spine properly, and which imaging test to choose. It was inspired by a hot-off-the-presses publication from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) focused on clinical decision rules for cervical spine imaging […]