Advances in Pediatric Emergency Care: Diagnosis, Risk Stratification, and Acute Management

Pediatric emergency departments manage a broad spectrum of time-sensitive illnesses and injuries, from fever and respiratory distress to sepsis, trauma, poisoning, and neurologic emergencies. Early recognition of serious disease is challenging because initial findings may be subtle, age-dependent, and nonspecific. At the same time, clinicians must balance rapid intervention against unnecessary testing, antimicrobial exposure, radiation, and hospitalization. Growing use of point-of-care ultrasound, biomarkers, rapid diagnostics, clinical prediction tools, and digital decision support offers new opportunities to improve diagnostic accuracy and safety. Nevertheless, variation in resources, training, and care pathways continues to affect outcomes, particularly in high-volume and resource-limited settings globally.GoalThis Research Topic aims to bring together clinically relevant evidence that can improve the early assessment and management of acutely ill or injured children. It will examine how risk stratification, bedside diagnostics, resuscitation strategies, and evidence-based care pathways can support timely decisions while reducing avoidable interventions. The collection will also address serious pediatric infections as a major component of emergency care, including sepsis recognition, diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship, rapid microbiological testing, and antimicrobial resistance. By integrating clinical research, implementation science, and health service perspectives, the topic seeks to identify approaches that are effective, feasible, and adaptable across different emergency care systems. It will encourage international collaboration and provide practical evidence for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers working to improve the safety, efficiency, and equity of pediatric emergency care.Scope and Information for AuthorsWe welcome original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, narrative reviews, brief research reports, and well-designed methodological or implementation studies addressing the relevant themes outlined below:• Triage and clinical risk scores• Pediatric sepsis and serious infections• Respiratory, cardiovascular, neurologic, toxicologic, and traumatic emergencies• Shock and resuscitation• Airway management• Point-of-care ultrasound• Biomarkers and rapid diagnostics• Diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship• Artificial intelligence and clinical decision support• Pain and procedural care• Patient safety• Emergency department crowdingMulticenter, prospective, diagnostic accuracy, and interventional studies are particularly encouraged. Studies from low- and middle-income countries and those examining equitable, resource-appropriate models of pediatric emergency care are also strongly invited. Topic editors: Emre Kudu, Faruk Danış Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85622/advances-in-pediatric-emergency-care-diagnosis-risk-stratification-and-acute-management