Quick Literature Updates Episode 11

Stevens et al. examined CDC Wonder database data between 1999 and 2020 for pediatric firearm and automobile fatalities.

Stevens et al. used the Gifford's Law Center annual gun law scorecard between 2014 and 2020 to assess state gun law scores.

In recent years, the fatality rate for firearms has surpassed the fatality rate for automobiles in children.

Stronger gun laws were associated with decreased fatality rates, with a 55% lower firearm fatality rate for states with the strongest gun laws compared to those with the weakest gun laws.

Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant often used off-label as part of multimodal pain control after major surgery.

Lascano et al. performed a retrospective cohort study at Children's Hospital of LA looking at kids age 2 to 18 who underwent appendectomy for perforated appendicitis between 2014 and 2019.

In the Lascano et al. study, kids who received gabapentin had decreased postoperative opioid use.

In the Lascano et al. study, kids who received gabapentin had decreased postoperative length of stay.

Frazier et al. conducted a retrospective study from the Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium following 375 patients with gastroschisis who underwent closure between 2013 and 2016.

The overall rate for periumbilical hernias after gastroschisis closure was 22.7%.

Periumbilical hernia rate was significantly higher in patients who underwent primary closure versus those who needed silo placement.

Patients who underwent sutureless gastroschisis closures had 50% rates of persistent hernia.

Only 16.4% of patients who underwent sutured gastroschisis closure had a persistent hernia.

Spontaneous closure of periumbilical hernias after gastroschisis was seen in 38.8% of cases.

Only 31.8% of patients with periumbilical hernias after gastroschisis needed surgery.

Sutureless gastroschisis closures lead to more periumbilical hernias, but they can be managed as any other congenital umbilical hernia and have no additional risk.