Pediatric emergencies in the office - Are family physicians as prepared aspediatricians?

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to assess the occurrence of pediatric emergenci es in the offices of family physicians and pediatricians, the preparedness to respond, and the perceived importance of being prepared. STUDY DESIGN We performed a cross-sectional random mail survey of physician s. POPULATION Surveys were sent to 187 family physicians and 129 pediatricians practicing in North Carolina with 75% and 86% response rates, respectively . The 169 total respondents were in community practices regularly treating children and were included for analysis. OUTCOMES MEASURED We measured the incidence of 8 types of pediatric emergen cies, the availability of 11 items for resuscitation and stabilization, whe ther the physician had Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) training in t he previous 2 years, whether the office ever conducted a mock emergency, an d beliefs about the importance of preparing for and providing emergency car e to children., RESULTS Six types of pediatric emergencies were seen in one third or more o f all practices during the year. The average practice saw 4 or more pediatr ic emergencies in a year (family physicians = 3.8 vs pediatricians = 4.9, P < .001). Family physicians had fewer resuscitation and stabilization items than pediatricians (5.7 vs 8.6 items, P < .001) and were less prepared in terms of PALS training (19% vs 51%, P < .001). Those with PALS training wer e more likely to have an intraosseous needle and Broselow tape and to have conducted a mock code, Family physicians considered it is less important th an pediatricians to provide such care or to be prepared to do so. CONCLUSIONS Pediatric emergencies in the office are likely for either speci alty. Family physicians may be less prepared, and they discount the importa nce of the problem and the need for preparation.