Injury, Poisoning & Paediatric Emergencies
Prioritise stabilisation, recognise dangerous exposures and support injury prevention.
Quick revision ↓ Medical Dictionary
01Structured emergency care
Use an age-appropriate airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure approach while calling for help. Reassess after each intervention and prevent heat loss. Paediatric resuscitation is a practical supervised skill; use current local algorithms and correctly sized equipment rather than relying on adult assumptions.
02Head injury
Assess mechanism, consciousness, vomiting, seizures, neurological findings and safeguarding context. Imaging and observation decisions follow validated age-appropriate pathways. A period of normal behaviour does not remove every risk. Give specific deterioration advice and ensure a responsible adult can monitor the child after discharge.
03Poisoning history
Identify the substance, formulation, possible amount, timing and co-exposures without delaying emergency care. Obtain poison-service advice through the local pathway. Do not induce vomiting or give an unverified home remedy; decontamination and antidotes depend on the exposure and require appropriate expertise.
04Foreign bodies and burns
Button batteries and multiple magnets can cause serious injury and need urgent specialist advice even before symptoms appear. Assess airway risk with choking. For burns, assess depth, extent, location and inhalation concerns, provide appropriate first aid and avoid remedies that worsen tissue injury or hypothermia.
05Prevent recurrence
Discuss safe storage, supervision and age-appropriate injury prevention without blame. Deliberate ingestion requires psychosocial assessment as well as toxicology care. An inconsistent history or injuries incompatible with development need safeguarding review, with objective records and appropriate multidisciplinary communication.
High-Yield Revision
- Reassess after every intervention.
- Button batteries may injure before symptoms are obvious.
- Deliberate ingestion needs psychological as well as physical care.
Common Pitfalls
- Inducing vomiting after an unknown ingestion.
- Assuming temporary normal behaviour excludes head-injury risk.
References & Further Reading
Read the relevant guideline sections alongside these original clinical teaching cases. Local pathways, available services and individual patient factors determine care.
Reference review: 28 September 2026. Consult current local protocols for prescribing, procedures and escalation.