Children with chronic diseases show improved survival rates due to evolving innovations in treatments (e.g. novel cancer drugs, antisense oligonucleotide in spinal muscular atrophy). Thus, the number of pediatric patients with chronic conditions has increased over the past decades. Patients with these chronic, mostly rare conditions, are faced with the risk of complications such as seizures, infections, and others. Consequently, pediatricians, paramedics, and emergency physicians (EMP) are confronted with these patients increasingly in pre- and in-hospital settings leaving them in challenging situations. These patients suffer often from rare conditions with special problems, which are not within the usual scope of emergency medical teams. Further, due to the underlying diseases, children are less capable to compensate for emergencies leaving them at an increased risk for decompensation. The almost unavoidable lack of training in such situations leads to a higher degree of stress for all team members which is a known risk factor for treatment errors in pediatric patients in general.
During emergency situations, it is often not possible to provide specialized care for pediatric patients suffering from chronic diseases. Due to the high variety of underlying diseases, it is difficult to achieve an expert level in the management of the associated emergencies. While specific scientific data on the emergency care of chronically ill children is mostly only available for diseases with a high prevalence (e.g., diabetes mellitus, cystic fibrosis), it is lacking for rare conditions. Further, these patients are often not only in need of emergency treatment, but also for symptom control at the end of their life. In the case of pediatric patients, this displays for most emergency physicians a new and often uncomfortable situation. For this reason, innovative concepts are necessary to support emergency physicians, paramedics, and pediatricians in their work on these vulnerable children to increase their safety and to provide efficient support. Therefore, this Research Topic addresses researchers who investigate the emergency management of pediatric patients with chronic diseases.
The scope of this Research Topic ranges from research investigating classic emergency management of pediatric patients with chronic diseases to studies on emergency support in palliative situations. Pre-and in-hospital research is of high interest as well as scientific works on palliative care in emergency situations of pediatric patients. The editors are aware of the fact that chronic diseases in childhood display often rare conditions making prospective data analyses including high numbers of patients unlikely. For this reason, case reports and case series are welcome but must be innovative and of high interest to the emergency care community. Furthermore, scientific methods may include retrospective and prospective data analyses as well as case-control studies. Of particular interest are prospective trials focusing on specialized training programs for paramedics and emergency physicians.
Children with chronic diseases show improved survival rates due to evolving innovations in treatments (e.g. novel cancer drugs, antisense oligonucleotide in spinal muscular atrophy). Thus, the number of pediatric patients with chronic conditions has increased over the past decades. Patients with these chronic, mostly rare conditions, are faced with the risk of complications such as seizures, infections, and others. Consequently, pediatricians, paramedics, and emergency physicians (EMP) are confronted with these patients increasingly in pre- and in-hospital settings leaving them in challenging situations. These patients suffer often from rare conditions with special problems, which are not within the usual scope of emergency medical teams. Further, due to the underlying diseases, children are less capable to compensate for emergencies leaving them at an increased risk for decompensation. The almost unavoidable lack of training in such situations leads to a higher degree of stress for all team members which is a known risk factor for treatment errors in pediatric patients in general.
During emergency situations, it is often not possible to provide specialized care for pediatric patients suffering from chronic diseases. Due to the high variety of underlying diseases, it is difficult to achieve an expert level in the management of the associated emergencies. While specific scientific data on the emergency care of chronically ill children is mostly only available for diseases with a high prevalence (e.g., diabetes mellitus, cystic fibrosis), it is lacking for rare conditions. Further, these patients are often not only in need of emergency treatment, but also for symptom control at the end of their life. In the case of pediatric patients, this displays for most emergency physicians a new and often uncomfortable situation. For this reason, innovative concepts are necessary to support emergency physicians, paramedics, and pediatricians in their work on these vulnerable children to increase their safety and to provide efficient support. Therefore, this Research Topic addresses researchers who investigate the emergency management of pediatric patients with chronic diseases.
The scope of this Research Topic ranges from research investigating classic emergency management of pediatric patients with chronic diseases to studies on emergency support in palliative situations. Pre-and in-hospital research is of high interest as well as scientific works on palliative care in emergency situations of pediatric patients. The editors are aware of the fact that chronic diseases in childhood display often rare conditions making prospective data analyses including high numbers of patients unlikely. For this reason, case reports and case series are welcome but must be innovative and of high interest to the emergency care community. Furthermore, scientific methods may include retrospective and prospective data analyses as well as case-control studies. Of particular interest are prospective trials focusing on specialized training programs for paramedics and emergency physicians.