Identifying abuse: the LCAST app

In March of this year, we published a Rebeat of one of our most powerful episodes, It Could Have Been Different. We took a deep dive into one of the most difficult aspects of our jobs as emergency physicians – recognizing and managing child abuse, or non-accidental trauma (NAT). Signs of abuse can often be subtle, but there are some very specific findings that should make us consider NAT. Our guest expert, Dr. Mary Clyde Pierce, helped us learn to identify NAT using the TEN-4 FACESp clinical prediction rule.  In this episode, Dr. Pierce returns to discuss the new LCAST app developed by Lurie Children’s Hospital to help clinicians identify NAT. We love this app! It’s quick and easy to use – and it’s even better than using the decision rule alone. Listen to the episode to hear why! Have you tried the LCAST app? Share your experience with us via social media, @empulsepodcast, or through our website, ucdavisem.com. ***Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes! It helps us reach more people.*** Hosts: Dr. Julia Magaña, Associate Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Dr. Sarah Medeiros, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Guest: Dr. Mary Clyde Pierce, Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Resources: LCAST App – Lurie Children’s Child Injury Plausibility Assessment Support Tool EIIC PEAK Toolkit for Child Abuse EM Pulse Podcast: It Costs You Nothing Pierce MC, Kaczor K, Lorenz DJ, Bertocci G, Fingarson AK, Makoroff K, Berger RP, Bennett B, Magana J, Staley S, Ramaiah V, Fortin K, Currie M, Herman BE, Herr S, Hymel KP, Jenny C, Sheehan K, Zuckerbraun N, Hickey S, Meyers G, Leventhal JM. Validation of a Clinical Decision Rule to Predict Abuse in Young Children Based on Bruising Characteristics. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Apr 1;4(4):e215832. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5832. *** Thank you to the UC Davis Department of Emergency Medicine for supporting this podcast and to Orlando Magaña at OM Productions for audio production services.