Emergency Management and Treatment Strategies in Children Cardiac Arrest

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Emergency Medicine & Intensive Care Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 1546

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. REMOSS Research Group, Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
2. School of Nursing, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
Interests: pediatric basic life support; basic life support teaching; advanced life support teaching

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Guest Editor
1. Simulation, Life Support, and Intensive Care Research Unit (SICRUS), Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2. Primary Care Interventions to Prevent Maternal and Child Chronic Diseases of Perinatal and Developmental Origin (RICORS) (RD21/0012/0025), Carlos III Health Institute, 28029 Madrid, Spain
3. Clinical Nursing, Emergencies, Simulation and Teaching Innovation Research Group (CLINURSID), Department of Psychiatry, Radiology, Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15704 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Interests: debriefing; basic life support; advanced life support; pediatric life support
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. REMOSS Research Group, Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
2. School of Nursing, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
3. CLINURSID Research Group, Psychiatry, Radiology, Public Health, Nursing and Medicine Department, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Interests: advanced life support; neonatal life support; basic life support

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emergency care of children is a challenging area for healthcare professionals. Children present particularities compared to adults, which make pediatric emergencies a very complex specialty, but one that presents numerous gaps in knowledge for conducting impactful research.

Pediatric emergencies require, in many cases, strategies adapted to the particular characteristics of children and different from those of adults. The aim and scope of this Special Issue is to have studies that focus on the management and treatment of pediatric emergencies or, in any case, on novel strategies in relation to the training of healthcare personnel or first responders focused on pediatric victims.

Types of studies such as randomized clinical trials, observational studies, cohort studies and simulation studies will be welcome in this Special Issue, with the aim of presenting research that fills gaps in knowledge or offers original and novel strategies for the management and treatment of pediatric emergencies or in the training of healthcare personnel.

Dr. Martín Otero-Agra
Prof. Dr. Santiago Martínez-Isasi
Prof. Dr. Felipe Fernández-Méndez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pediatric emergency
  • pediatric life support
  • infant life support
  • simulation training
  • pediatric emergency care
  • pediatric prehospital care
  • pediatric emergency hospital service
  • pediatric cardiac arrest
  • advanced life support

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1044 KiB  
Article
Validation of the Korean Pediatric Emergency Tape with Two National Anthropometric Surveys in Korean Children
by Dongbum Suh, Jin Hee Lee and Hyuksool Kwon
Children 2025, 12(7), 913; https://doi.org/10.3390/children12070913 - 10 Jul 2025
Viewed by 226
Abstract
Background: The Korean Pediatric Emergency Tape (KPET), developed using 2005 anthropometric data, aims to improve weight estimation in Korean children. However, its validity has not been evaluated using recent large-scale data. This study evaluates the accuracy of the KPET compared with the [...] Read more.
Background: The Korean Pediatric Emergency Tape (KPET), developed using 2005 anthropometric data, aims to improve weight estimation in Korean children. However, its validity has not been evaluated using recent large-scale data. This study evaluates the accuracy of the KPET compared with the latest version of the Broselow Tape (BT) using contemporary national anthropometric datasets. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using pooled data from the 2019 National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children (NHSPIC, age 0–5) and the 2018–2019 Student Health Examination Sample Survey in Korea (SHESS, age 6–12). Accuracy was assessed by the proportion of estimates within 10% (PW10) and 20% (PW20) of measured weight, and by concordance between estimated and measured weight color zones. Results: Data from 1,992,646 (KPET) and 1,987,504 (BT) children were analyzed. In NHSPIC, the KPET showed slightly lower overall accuracy than the BT (PW10: 72.7% vs. 74.0%) but outperformed the BT in infants (PW10: 72.1% vs. 67.4%). In SHESS, the KPET consistently underperformed compared with the BT (PW10: 49.5% vs. 52.9%). The KPET showed higher concordance only in infants. Both tapes showed a trend of underestimation with increasing age, more pronounced in the KPET. Conclusion: The KPET showed lower overall performance than the BT but outperformed the BT in infants. Its accuracy declines in older children and tends to underestimate weight. Regular updates using recent anthropometric data are necessary to ensure accurate weight estimation and reflect current growth trends in Korean children. Full article
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14 pages, 1629 KiB  
Article
Characteristics, Outcomes and Mortality Risk Factors of Pediatric In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Western China: A Retrospective Study Using Utstein Style
by Jiaoyang Cao, Jing Song, Baoju Shan, Changxin Zhu and Liping Tan
Children 2025, 12(5), 579; https://doi.org/10.3390/children12050579 - 29 Apr 2025
Viewed by 448
Abstract
Background: Pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) remains a critical health challenge with high mortality rates. Limited data from Western China prompted this study to investigate the characteristics of IHCA using the Utstein style. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 456 pediatric patients [...] Read more.
Background: Pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) remains a critical health challenge with high mortality rates. Limited data from Western China prompted this study to investigate the characteristics of IHCA using the Utstein style. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 456 pediatric patients with IHCA (2018–2022) at the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University assessed demographics, arrest characteristics, outcomes and mortality risk factors. The primary outcome was survival to discharge; the secondary outcomes included return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) > 20 min, 24 h survival, and favorable neurological outcomes. Logistic regression was used to identify the mortality risk factors. Results: ROSC > 20 min was achieved in 78.07% of cases, with 37.94% surviving to discharge (86.13% of survivors had favorable neurological outcomes). Etiological stratification identified general medical conditions (52.63%) as the predominant diagnoses, with surgical cardiac patients demonstrating superior resuscitation outcomes (ROSC > 20 min: 86.84%, discharge survival: 64.04%). Initial arrest rhythms predominantly featured non-shockable patterns, specifically bradycardia with poor perfusion (79.39%), whereas shockable rhythms (ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia) constituted only 4.17% of cases. Multivariable regression analysis identified five independent risk factors: vasoactive infusion before arrest (OR = 7.69), CPR > 35 min (OR = 13.92), emergency intubation (OR = 5.17), administration of >2 epinephrine doses (OR = 3.12), and rearrest (OR = 8.48). Notably, prolonged CPR (>35 min) correlated with higher mortality (8.96% survival vs. 48.54% for 1–15 min), yet all six survivors with CPR > 35 min had favorable neurological outcomes. Conclusions: These findings underscore the persistent challenges in pediatric IHCA management while challenging the conventional CPR duration thresholds for futility. The identified mortality risk factors inform resuscitation decision making and future studies. Full article
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13 pages, 2097 KiB  
Article
ICalled-DIY Device for Hands-On and Low-Cost Adapted Emergency Call Learning: A Simulation Study
by Luis Castro-Alonso, Sheila Vázquez-Álvarez, Santiago Martínez-Isasi, María Fernández-Méndez, Luz Rey-Fernández, María García-Martínez, Adriana Seijas-Vijande, Roberto Barcala-Furelos and Martín Otero-Agra
Children 2025, 12(3), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/children12030282 - 26 Feb 2025
Viewed by 580
Abstract
Objective: To assess the efficacy of a low-cost, Do-It-Yourself training material for emergency call simulation training, compared to a more traditional approach. Methods: A quasi-experimental design without pre-test was used. A final sample of 762 schoolchildren, aged three to twelve years, [...] Read more.
Objective: To assess the efficacy of a low-cost, Do-It-Yourself training material for emergency call simulation training, compared to a more traditional approach. Methods: A quasi-experimental design without pre-test was used. A final sample of 762 schoolchildren, aged three to twelve years, received two training programmes. The control group (C-G) received training using an adult dummy and an authentic smartphone (336 schoolchildren). The experimental group (ICall-G) was trained using a stuffed toy and the ICalled-DIY device, a low-cost simulation consisting of three sheets of paper held together by a ring that simulates a smartphone. The 20 min training was delivered by a nurse using a didactic–demonstration–simulation methodology. The evaluation consisted of a simulation scenario, in which participants had to identify the emergency and make a call and were then evaluated with a checklist. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in unlocking the phone (ICall-G: 84% vs. C-G: 83%; p = 0.78) or dialling 112 to make the call (ICall-G: 91% vs. C-G: 91%; p = 0.89). Hands-free activation in ICall-G was significantly higher (81%) compared to C-G (54%) (p < 0.001). At the pre-primary level, results were lower than those observed in primary education, with minimal differences between the first cycle of primary education and subsequent cycles. Conclusions: The use of a practical, low-cost and adapted tool for emergency call instruction was found to be comparable to a conventional approach. In addition, the use of the ICalled-DIY device was found to be more effective in facilitating the understanding of hands-free activation. Full article
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