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Clinical Suspicion and Language Translation in the Pediatric Emergency Department
Pediatric Emergency Care (2018)
  • Michael Bravo
  • Rodrick Lim, Western University
  • Naveen Poonai, Western University
  • Breanna Chen, Western University
Abstract
Elucidating a medical history and gaining patient consent and buy-in are difficult in any teenager presenting to a North American pediatric emergency department, but especially so when they present with limited English fluency. Translators can make this process easier, but both limited availability and impreciseness in translation can reduce their utility. We describe 2 teenage females who presented to our pediatric emergency department within 48 hours with similar presentations but no obvious organic cause or examination findings to suggest a specific diagnosis. We demonstrate how complex language translation issues in these adolescents contributed to prolonged diagnoses and advocate for independent interpreters to be available on first presentation to hospital.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2018
Citation Information
Michael Bravo, Rodrick Lim, Naveen Poonai and Breanna Chen. "Clinical Suspicion and Language Translation in the Pediatric Emergency Department" Pediatric Emergency Care (2018)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/breanna-chen/1/