title: Using Pleth Variability as a Triage Tool for Children With Obstructive Airway Disease in a Pediatric Emergency Department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with obstructive airway disease have varying degrees of pulsus paradoxus that correlate with illness severity. Pulsus paradoxus can be measured using plethysmography. We investigated whether plethysmograph (pleth) variability on admission to the pediatric emergency department (ED) could predict patient disposition. We hypothesized that patients with a larger pleth variability would have a higher likelihood of being admitted to a general pediatrics unit or the intensive care unit (ICU).
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a prospective single-center study of children aged 1 to 18 years who presented to a pediatric ED with a diagnosis of asthma or reactive airway disease. The pleth variability index (PVI) was calculated from their initial plethysmography tracing. Disposition from the ED was recorded as discharge, admission to the floor, or admission to the ICU.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 117 patients were included in our study. Forty-eight patients were discharged home, 61 were admitted to the floor, and 8 were admitted to the ICU. The median PVI for each of these groups was 0.27 (interquartile range [IQR], 0.19-0.39) for discharges, 0.29 (IQR, 0.20-0.44) for patients admitted to the floor, and 0.56 (IQR, 0.35-0.70) for patients admitted to the ICU. A Kruskal-Wallis test demonstrated a significant difference in the PVI between each of the groups (P = 0.0087).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that PVI may be a useful tool in the triage of children who present to the ED with obstructive airway disease. Further studies should aim to assess the validity of PVI in predicting the response to bronchodilator therapy during the course of a patient's hospitalization.
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brandwein
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital of New Jersey, RWJ Barnabas Health, Newark, NJ.
authors.forename: Kavita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kline
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Silver
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gangadharan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010991:Plethysmography / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods*