The foundation in any pediatric resuscitation is the length-based estimation of the patient's lean body weight. Once determined, equipments and medications are sized and dosed, respectively, according to that weight. You can use electronic resources such as PEMSoft (Pediatric Emergency Medicine Software) or the more traditional paper-based Broselow tape.
If you have neither of these at your easy disposal, I thought I would create a multi-card reference which works best in electronic pdf form on your mobile device. (Remember, I'm also sharing my Paucis Verbis cards using Dropbox.) Even if you DO have other available references, it's still nice to have some redundant back-up sources just in case.
This data was collected by merging data from the Broselow tape and PEMSoft.
- I created 30 individual cards for patients weighing between 5 kg and 34 kg.
- I didn't include whether endotracheal tubes should be cuffed or uncuffed. This is controversial currently. The traditional teaching is that patients younger than 8 years old should receive UNcuffed tubes.
- D10W glucose should be given in patients younger than 1 year old. D25W glucose should be given for patients 1-2 years old. D50W glucose can be given to patients 2 years and older.
- Please use these cards with caution. I've proof-read these cards multiple times, but there still may be some typos. Please let me know if you see any discrepancies.
Example card for 10 kg child:
Feel free to download this card and print on a 4'' x 6'' index card.
Disclosure- I am one of the editors for PEMSoft. I just returned from a KidsCareEverywhere's trip to Vietnam, where we taught over 200 pediatricians how to use the software to improve their resuscitation skills.
