For medical purposes

1. Provincial Reciprocity Attainment Program
Pediatrics

2. Pediatric Age Classifications
 Newborn First few hours of life
 Neonate First 28 days of life
 Infant Up to 1 year of age
 Toddler 1 to 3 years of age
 Preschooler 3 to 5 years of age
 School age 6 to 12 years of age
 Adolescent The period between the end of
childhood (beginning of puberty)
and adulthood (18 years of age)

3. Developmental Stages and
Approach Strategies
 Infants
 Toddlers
 Preschoolers
 School-age
children
 Adolescents
 Major fears
 Characteristics of
thinking
 Approach
strategies

4. Anatomy and Physiology
Review for Pediatric Patients

5. Head
 Proportionally larger size
 Larger occipital region
 Fontanelles open in infancy
 Face is smaller in comparison to size
of head
 Paramedic implications

6. Airway
 Narrower at all levels
 Infants are obligate nasal breathers
 Jaw is posteriorly smaller in young children
 Larynx is higher (C3-C4) and more anterior
 Cricoid ring is the narrowest part of the
airway in young children
 Tracheal cartilage is softer
 Trachea is smaller in both length and
diameter

7. Airway
 Epiglottis
 Omega shaped in infants
 Extends at a 45degree angle into airway
 Epiglottic folds have softer cartilage; more
floppy, especially in children

8. Chest and Lungs
 Ribs are positioned horizontally
 Ribs are more pliable and offer less
protection to organs
 Chest muscles are immature and fatigue
easily
 Lung tissue is more fragile
 Mediastinum is more mobile
 Thin chest wall allows for easily transmitted
breath sounds

9. Abdomen
 Immature abdominal muscles offer
less protection
 Abdominal organs are closer together
 Liver and spleen are proportionally
larger and more vascular

10. Extremities
 Bones are softer and more porous until
adolescence
 Injuries to growth plate may disrupt
bone growth
 Site for IO access

11. Skin and Body Surface Area
(BSA)
 Skin is thinner and more elastic
 Thermal exposure results in deeper
burn
 Less subcutaneous fat
 Larger surface area to body mass

12. Respiratory System
 Tidal volume is proportionally smaller
to that of adolescents and adults
 Metabolic oxygen requirements of
infants and children are about double
those of adolescents and adults
 Children have proportionally smaller
functional residual capacity, and
therefore proportionally smaller oxygen
reserves

13. Cardiovascular System
 Cardiac output is rate dependent in infants
and small children
 Vigorous but limited cardiovascular reserve
 Bradycardia is a response to hypoxia
 Children can maintain blood pressure longer
than adults
 Circulating blood volume is proportionally
larger than adults
 Absolute blood volume is smaller than
adults

14. Nervous System
 Develops throughout childhood
 Developing neural tissue is more
fragile
 Brain and spinal cord are less well
protected by skull and spinal column
 Open fontanelles in early months

15. Metabolic Differences
 Infants and children have limited glycogen
and glucose stores
 Blood glucose can drop very low in
response to stressors
 Significant volume loss can result from
vomiting and diarrhea
 Children are prone to hypothermia due to
increased body surface area
 Newborns and neonates are unable to
shiver to maintain body temperature

16. Illness and Injury by Age
Group
 Some childhood diseases and disabilities
are predictable by age group
 Neonate (first 28 days of life)
 1– to 5–month–old infant
 6– to 12–month–old infant
 1– to 3–year–old child
 3 –to 5–year–old child
 6–to 12–year–old child
 12–to 15–year–old adolescent

17. General Principles of Pediatric
Assessment

18. General Considerations
 Many components of the initial patient
evaluation can be done by observing the
patient
 Use the parent/guardian to assist in making
the infant or child more comfortable as
appropriate
 Interacting with parents and family
 Normal responses to acute illness and injury
 Parent/guardian and child interaction
 Intervention techniques

19. Scene Assessment
 Observe the scene for hazards or potential
hazards
 Observe the scene for mechanism of
injury/illness
 Ingestion
 Pills, medicine bottles, household chemicals, etc.
 Child abuse
 Injury and history do not coincide, bruises not where
they should be for mechanism of injury, etc.
 Position patient found

20. Scene Assessment
 Observe the parent/guardian/caregiver
interaction with the child
 Do they act appropriately?
 Is parent/guardian/caregiver concerned?
 Is parent/guardian/caregiver angry?
 Is parent/guardian/caregiver indifferent?

21. Initial Assessment
 General impression
 General impression of environment
 General impression of parent/guardian and child
interaction
 General impression of the patient/pediatric
assessment triangle
 A structure for assessing the pediatric patient
 Focuses on the most valuable information for pediatric
patients
 Used to ascertain if any life-threatening condition
exists
 Components

22. Triage Decisions
 Initial triage decisions
 Urgent –proceed with rapid ABC
assessment, treatment, and transport
 Non urgent –proceed with focused
history, detailed physical examination
after initial assessment

23. Vital Functions
 Determine level of consciousness
 AVPU scale
 Alert
 Responds to verbal stimuli
 Responds to painful stimuli
 Unresponsive
 Modified Glasgow Coma Scale
 Signs of inadequate oxygenation

24. Airway and Breathing
 Airway – determine patency
 Breathing should proceed with adequate chest rise and fall
 Signs of respiratory distress
 Tachypnea
 Use of accessory muscles
 Nasal flaring
 Grunting
 Bradypnea
 Irregular breathing pattern
 Head bobbing
 Absent breath sounds
 Abnormal breath sounds

25. Circulation
 Pulse
 Central
 Peripheral
 Quality of pulse
 Blood pressure
 Measuring BP is not necessary in
children less than 3 years of age
 Skin color
 Active hemorrhage

26. Normal Vital Signs
Group Breaths/min Beats/min Expected Mean for Blood Pressure
(Systolic/diastolic)
Newborn 30-50 120-160 74-100 mm Hg/50-68 mm Hg
Infant 20-30 80-140 84-106 mm Hg/56-70 mm Hg
Toddler 20-30 80-130 98-106 mm Hg/50-70 mm Hg
Preschool 20-30 80-120 98-112 mm Hg/64-70 mm Hg
School age (12-20)-30 (60-80)-100 104-124 mm Hg/64-80 mm Hg
Adolescent 12-20 60-100 118-132 mm Hg/70-82 mm Hg

27. Transition Phase
 Used to allow the infant or child to
become familiar with you and your
equipment
 Use depends on the seriousness of
the patient's condition
 For the conscious, non-acutely ill child
 For the unconscious, acutely ill child do
not perform the transition phase but
proceed directly to treatment and
transport

28. Focused History–Approach
 For infant, toddler, and preschool age
patient, obtain from parent/guardian
 For school age and adolescent patient,
most information may be obtained
from the patient
 For older adolescent patient question
the patient in private regarding sexual
activity, pregnancy, illicit drug and
alcohol use

29. Focused History–Content
 Chief complaint
 Nature of illness/injury
 How long has the
patient been
sick/injured
 Presence of fever
 Effects on behavior
 Bowel/urine habits
 Vomiting/diarrhea
 Frequency of urination
 Past medical history
 Infant or child under the
care of a physician
 Chronic illnesses
 Medications
 Allergies

30. Detailed Physical Examination
 Should proceed from head-to-toe in older children
 Should proceed from toe-to-head in younger
children (less than 2 years of age)
 Depending on the patient’s condition, some or all of
the following assessments may be appropriate:
 Pupils
 Capillary refill
 Hydration
 Pulse oximetry
 ECG monitoring

31. On-Going Assessment
 Appropriate for all patients
 Should be continued throughout the patient care
encounter
 Purpose is to monitor the patient for changes in:
 Respiratory effort
 Skin color and temperature
 Mental status
 Vital signs (including pulse oximetry measurements)
 Measurement tools should be appropriate for size
of child

32. General Principles in Patient
Management
 Principles of management depend on
patient’s condition and may include:
 Basic airway management
 Advanced airway management
 Vascular access (IV, IO)
 Fluid resuscitation
 Pharmacological
 Nonpharmacological
 Transport considerations
 Psychological support/communication strategies

33. Communicating With Children
 Begin conversations with both the child and parent
 Be aware you are collecting the child’s history from
a parent’s point of view
 Your interview can put the parent on the defensive
 Be cautious not to be judgmental if the parents have not
provided proper care or safety for the child before your
arrival
 Be observant but not confrontational
 Make contact with the child in a gradual approach
as you are interviewing the parent

34. Communicating With Children
 Speak to children at eye level
 Use a quiet, calm voice
 Be aware of your nonverbal
communication
 Be knowledgeable of communication
with children according to their age
group

35. Specific Pathophysiology,
Assessment, and Management

36. Respiratory Compromise
 Several conditions manifest chiefly as
respiratory distress in children including:
 Upper and lower foreign body airway obstruction
 Upper airway disease (croup, bacterial
tracheitis, and epiglottitis)
 Lower airway disease (asthma, bronchiolitis, and
pneumonia)
 Most cardiac arrests in children are
secondary to respiratory insufficiency thus,
respiratory emergencies require rapid
prehospital assessment and management

37. Respiratory Compromise
 Attempt to calm and reassure the child with
respiratory compromise
 It is important not to:
 Agitate the conscious patient (avoid IVs, blood
pressure measurements, examining the patient’s
mouth)
 Lay the child down (supine)
 When possible, allow the parent or other
caregiver to remain with the child
 Advise the receiving hospital of the patient’s
status as soon as possible

38. Special Considerations for
Pediatric Patients in Shock
 Several special considerations must
be taken into account when caring for
a child in shock
 Circulating blood volume
 Body surface area and hypothermia
 Cardiac reserve
 Respiratory fatigue
 Vital sign assessment

39. Dehydration
 Profound fluid and electrolyte imbalances can occur
in children as a consequence of diarrhea, vomiting,
poor fluid intake, fever, or burns
 Compromises cardiac output and systemic
perfusion if:
 Child loses the fluid equivalent of 5% or more total body
weight
 Adolescent loses 5% to 7% of total body weight
 Signs and symptoms
 Management

40. Assessment of Degree of Dehydration in Isotonic Fluid Loss
Clinical Parameters Mild Moderate Severe
Body weight loss
Infant
Adult
5% (50-mL/kg)
3% (30-mL/kg)
10% (100-mL/kg)
6% (60-mL/kg)
15% (150-mL/kg)
9% (90-mL/kg)
Skin turgor Slightly      
Fontanelle Possibly flat or
depressed
Depressed Significantly
depressed
Mucous membranes Dry Very dry Parched
Skin perfusion Warm with normal
color
Cool (extremities);
pale
Cold (extremities)
Heart rate Mildly tachycardic Moderately
tachycardic
Extremely tachycardic
Peripheral pulses Normal Diminished Absent
Blood pressure Normal Normal Reduced
Sensorium Normal or irritable Irritable or lethargic Unresponsive

41. Severe dehydration.

42. Hemorrhage
 Even a relatively small amount of
blood loss can be quite serious for the
pediatric patient
 Management

43. Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome (SIDS)
 Defined as the sudden death of an apparently
healthy infant that remains unexplained by history
and a thorough autopsy
 The disease cannot be predicted or prevented, although
positioning during sleep may be a factor
 Incidence
 Pathophysiology
 Risk factors
 Management

44. Child Abuse and Neglect
 Follow local protocol in reporting
suspected abuse and discuss any
suspicions of child abuse or neglect
with medical direction

45. Abuse
 Age considerations
 Characteristics of the abuser
 Types of abuse
 Indicators of abuse
 Historical
 Psychosocial
 Signs of physical abuse
 Signs of emotional abuse
 Physical indicators
 Behavioral indicators
 Signs of sexual abuse