Key result
Bedside ultrasound expedites goal-directed therapy and transport for a 3-year-old with HF secondary to DCM.
Why the study?
Heart failure secondary to cardiomyopathy is an uncommon and often initially misdiagnosed presentation in the pediatric emergency department due to nonspecific symptoms.
Case Report (n=1)
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Bedside ultrasound by emergency physicians can facilitate rapid diagnosis and management of pediatric heart failure presenting with nonspecific symptoms.
Heart failure as a result of cardiomyopathy is an uncommon presentation in the pediatric emergency department (PED). The initial presenting symptoms in these cases are often nonspecific and may be confused with more common pediatric illnesses. We report a case of a 3-year-old girl initially discharged from a PED after routine evaluation of vomiting and diarrhea with a diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis only to return 1 week later in heart failure from a dilated cardiomyopathy. A bedside ultrasound performed by the emergency physician in the PED allowed for the initiation of appropriate, rapid, goal-directed therapy and expedited timely transport to a facility with pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. We will review dilated cardiomyopathy and the role of emergency physician echocardiography.
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Sivitz et al. (2012) conducted a case report in Heart failure secondary to dilated cardiomyopathy (n=1). Bedside ultrasound was evaluated. Bedside ultrasound by an emergency physician allowed for rapid, goal-directed therapy and expedited transport for a 3-year-old girl with heart failure secondary to dilated cardiomyopathy.
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