are the AAP guidelines regarding lumbar puncture being followed?
GROUND: In 1996, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a practice parameter recommending that lumbar puncture (LP) be strongly considered in infants younger than 12 months presenting with a first febrile seizure. OBJECTIVE: We sought: (1) to determine if the recommendations of the AAP are being followed by pediatric emergency medicine-trained physicians at our institution; (2) to describe the rate of meningitis among patients with febrile seizure who underwent LP; and (3) to determine if there were differences in performance of LP if children were younger or pretreated with antibiotics. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients aged 6 to 12 months presenting with first simple febrile seizure to the emergency department (ED) at Miami Children’s Hospital was conducted between January 2001 and November 2005. RESULTS: A total of 242 ED records with a discharge diagnosis including the term “febrile seizure,” “seizure,” or “meningitis” were identified. Of those, 56 met i
