Abstract:
<h4>Objectives: </h4> To determine recommendations for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) based on transmission risk for paediatric procedures in the Emergency Department during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsTwo survey rounds were conducted in April-May 2020. The survey presented a number of emergency medicine procedures relevant to the care of children, and asked respondents to provide PPE recommendations according to levels of community transmission, and whether or not the child had symptoms of acute respiratory illness. ResultsParticipants were recruited by approaching relevant professional groups, with 15 from the PREDICT network and 12 from the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases (ASID) Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ANZPID) Group. Airborne PPE is recommended for resuscitative procedures and various respiratory procedures in most situations There were differences in opinion between emergency and paediatric infectious disease specialists with regards to most appropriate PPE for children without symptoms of COVID-19 in a setting of low community transmission, and for procedures involving the head, neck or airway. In general, emergency physicians were more likely to favour airborne PPE than infectious disease specialists. In the setting of high community transmission, there was a stronger tendency to recommend at least droplet precautions for most procedures – regardless of whether or not the child had symptoms. ConclusionsDifferences in PPE recommendations for various paediatric procedures between infectious disease specialists and emergency physicians were identified. Further research is urgently needed to clarify and quantify risks for many common interventions and determine strategies for multidisciplinary consensus regarding future recommendations.
