Managing Emergencies in the Pediatric Office – Paperback

This book is intended to help pediatric primary care practices deal with the initial evaluation and management of most emergent and urgent conditions that may present unexpectedly to the office. Most urban and suburban practices rarely see such patients, as these patients are usually taken directly to urgent care centers or emergency departments. Given the infrequency of exposure to emergencies in the office, primary care clinicians may go several years without managing an emergency and thus each chapter is designed as a quick refresher on the initial actions. Critical first steps are described, followed by succinct recommendations as to evaluation and management pertinent to the presenting condition, assuming that the diagnosis is either immediately clear or rapidly ascertained.

The chapters are structured to begin with the First Steps, then move on to the Evaluation, which addresses history, signs and symptoms, and diagnostics. Sections on Management and Disposition/When to Refer along with the summary round out each chapter. The evaluation and management sections are written with the assumption that most primary care practice offices have basic equipment on hand for measuring pulse oximetry and blood pressure, bag and mask resuscitation, aerosol treatment for bronchospasm, initial treatment of acute allergic reaction or anaphylaxis, and simple bandaging and splinting, with more advanced diagnostics and management to occur in urgent care center or emergency room settings.

Written by experts in the field, Managing Emergencies in the Pediatric Office is designed to help the provider react quickly and confidently when facing a patient with an urgent or emergent condition. This book is not meant to substitute for a more thorough review of the condition being treated as is found in a comprehensive textbook.