title: Procedural sedation and analgesia in the emergency room of a field hospital after the Nepal earthquake.
abstract: Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) should be a priority in the emergency care of injured children. This humanistic approach is particularly important in paediatric victims of disaster, because these patients are prone to psychological distress secondary to the traumatic event. Following the Nepal earthquake, an Israeli field hospital (IFH) was deployed in Kathmandu. We report our experience with PSA in the emergency room (ER) of the IFH. 22 children underwent surgery in the operating room and 10 underwent PSA in the ER by paediatric emergency physicians: 6 had wound debridement, 2 had fracture reduction and 2 had laceration repair. All the procedures were successfully completed in the ER and no patient required intubation or admission to the intensive care unit due to an adverse event. The present study is the first report of the practice of paediatric PSA by non-anaesthesiologists in a field hospital.
authors.affiliation: Israel Defense Forces, Medical Corps, Tel Hashomer, Israel Pediatric Emergency Department, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Giora
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weiser
authors.affiliation: Israel Defense Forces, Medical Corps, Tel Hashomer, Israel Pediatric Department, Hadassah Medical Center, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Uri
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ilan
authors.affiliation: Israel Defense Forces, Medical Corps, Tel Hashomer, Israel Pediatric Emergency Department, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mendlovic
authors.affiliation: Israel Defense Forces, Medical Corps, Tel Hashomer, Israel Department of Military Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Tarif
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Emergency Department, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Itai
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shavit
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000698:Analgesia / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000379:methods*; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008952:Mobile Health Units; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: disaster planning and response; paediatric injury; pain management