EMT Basic · Chapter 35 · Review · Chapter track
Pediatric Emergencies
Referencing the content of EMT-Basic training and emergency patient care
Learning objectives (31)
Demonstrate how to assist ventilation of an infant or child using a bag-mask device — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Demonstrate how to perform one-person bag-mask ventilation on a pediatric patient. (p 1318, Skill Drill 35-4) 9. Demonstrate how to perform two-person bag-mask ventilation on a ped — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Demonstrate how to position the airway in a pediatric patient. (p 1298, Skill Drill 35-1) 2. Demonstrate how to palpate the pulse and estimate the capillary refill time in a pediat — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Demonstrate how to use a length-based resus- citation tape to size equipment appropriately for a pediatric patient — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe asthma, its possible causes, signs, and symptoms, and the steps in the manage- ment of a pediatric patient who is experiencing an asthma attack — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe child abuse and neglect and its pos- sible indicators, including the medical and legal responsibilities of EMTs when caring for a pe- diatric patient who is a possible vic — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric pa- tient who is dehydrated, including how to gauge the severity of dehydration based on key signs and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who has been poisoned, including com- mon sources of poisoning, signs, and symp- toms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who has experienced a drowning emer- gency, including common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who is experiencing a fever emergency, including common causes — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who is experiencing a gastrointestinal emergency, including common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient who is in shock (hypoperfusion), includ- ing common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient with an altered mental status, includ- ing common causes, signs, and symptoms — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Describe the emergency care of a pediatric patient with meningitis, including common causes, signs, symptoms, and special precau- tions — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE), sudden unexpected infant death, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), including its risk factors, patient assessment, and spe- c — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss some positive ways EMTs may cope with the death of a pediatric patient and why managing posttraumatic stress is important for all health care professionals — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the common causes of pediat- ric trauma emergencies; include how to differentiate between injury patterns in adults, infants, and children — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the physical and cognitive devel- opmental stages of a preschool-age child, including health risks, signs that may in- dicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the physical and cognitive develop- mental stages of a school-age child, including health risks, signs that may indicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the physical and cognitive develop- mental stages of an adolescent, including health risks, patient assessment, and privacy issues — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the physical and cognitive developmental stages of a toddler, including health risks, signs that may indicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the physical and cognitive developmental stages of an infant, including health risks, signs that may indicate illness, and patient assessment — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the responsibilities of EMTs when communicating with a family or loved ones fol- lowing the death of a child — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Discuss the significance of burns in pediat- ric patients, their most common causes, and general guidelines EMTs should follow when assessing patients who have sustained burns — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Explain how to determine the correct size of an airway adjunct intended for a pediatric patient during an emergency — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Explain some of the challenges inherent in providing emergency care to pediatric patients and why effective communication with both the patient and his or her family members is cri — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Explain the four triage categories used in the JumpSTART system for pediatric patients during disaster management — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1283); confirm wording in your course copy.
Explain the steps in the primary assessment of a pediatric patient, including the elements of the pediatric assessment triangle (PAT), hands-on XABCs, transport decision considerat — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Explain the steps in the secondary assessment of a pediatric patient, including what EMTs should look for related to different body areas and the method of injury — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
List the different oxygen delivery devices that are available for providing oxygen to a pediatric patient, including the indications for the use of each and precautions EMTs must t — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
List the possible causes of an upper and a lower airway obstruction in a pediatric patient and the steps in the management of foreign body airway obstruction — Knowledge/skills objective (printed page 1282); confirm wording in your course copy.
Chapter web resources
Optional reading from authoritative sites. Your textbook remains the primary source for this course.
- MedlinePlus pediatric emergencies · NIH
Pediatric assessment differences
- AAP pediatric safety · AAP
Family-focused pediatric safety
When sources disagree (5 topics to verify before you teach from this chapter alone)
Showing Chapter track material. Switch tracks on the chapter page.
Vocabulary · 11
Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT)
A rapid across-the-room impression of a child's status based on three sides — Appearance, Work of Breathing, and Circulation to skin.
SourceAmerican Academy of Pediatrics — Pediatric Assessment Triangle
Bronchiolitis
A common viral lower-respiratory infection of infants and young children, often caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), producing wheezing and respiratory distress.
SourceAmerican Academy of Pediatrics — Bronchiolitis
Croup
A viral upper-airway infection in young children characterized by a barking cough, hoarseness, and inspiratory stridor.
SourceAmerican Academy of Pediatrics — Croup
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
The sudden, unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant under 1 year old that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation.
SourceNIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development — About SIDS and safe infant sleep
Febrile seizure
A seizure in a young child triggered by a rapid rise in body temperature, usually brief and generally benign with normal neurological recovery.
SourceAmerican Academy of Pediatrics — Febrile seizures
Brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE)
A sudden, brief episode in an infant under 1 year involving a change in breathing, color, muscle tone, or responsiveness that has fully resolved by evaluation.
SourceAmerican Academy of Pediatrics — BRUE clinical practice guideline
Capillary refill time
The time required for color to return to a blanched fingertip or nail bed after pressure is released — over 2 seconds suggests poor perfusion in children.
SourceAmerican Academy of Pediatrics — PALS — pediatric assessment
Anterior fontanelle
The diamond-shaped soft spot on the top of an infant's skull where the bones have not yet fused; typically closes by 18 months.
SourceNIH MedlinePlus — Fontanelles — bulging
Length-based resuscitation tape
A color-coded measuring tape (e.g., Broselow) used to estimate a child's weight and recommended drug doses and equipment sizes based on body length.
SourceAmerican Heart Association — PALS — length-based emergency tape
Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
An adaptation of the Glasgow Coma Scale for infants and young children that adjusts the verbal score for pre-verbal communication.
SourceNIH MedlinePlus — Glasgow Coma Scale
resources/pediatric
spinal-cord-injury-facts/. Accessed
SourcePrinted pages 1281–1348. Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured, 12th ed., Jones & Bartlett Learning / American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
Sequences · 2
- Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT) — Order the three sides of the across-the-room PAT.
- Conscious infant with severe choking — Order the BLS sequence for a conscious infant with a complete obstruction.