Early Hypocalcemia in Pediatric Major Trauma: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective Early hypocalcemia (EH) is common in adult major trauma patients and has been associated with coagulopathy, shock, increased transfusion requirements, and mortality. The incidence of EH in pediatric severe trauma has not been investigated. We aimed to explore the incidence of EH among severely injured children. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study at a tertiary children's hospital and a level 1 pediatric trauma center. We extracted the medical records of all pediatric major trauma patients, defined as an age less than 18 years and an Injury Severity Score (ISS) greater than 15, admitted after trauma team activation from January 2010 to December 2020. The primary outcome was the presence of EH. Patients were classified into 3 groups: severe hypocalcemia (ionized calcium [iCa]
Source: Pediatric Emergency Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research