👤 By the CinnaEMS Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-09-27🏷️ Primary Assessment🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Also known as: pediatrics · children · infant · PAT · croup · epiglottitis
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Use this quick-reference guide to recognise, treat and hand over Pediatric Essentials on the NREMT and on the call. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
📌 Triangle
Appearance
Work of breathing
Circulation to skin
🧪 Numbers
Infant RR 30–60 · HR 100–160
Low BP: under 70 + 2 × age
📌 Airway
Croup: gradual, barking
Epiglottitis: sudden, drooling — don't look
📚 Pediatric Essentials — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what changes the plan, and what to hand over.
Children compensate well and then decline fast, so the examinable skill is recognizing a sick child early — from the doorway, with age-appropriate numbers — and knowing which airway problems must not be disturbed.
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Key points
Understand these first
Pediatric assessment triangle: appearance, work of breathing, circulation to skin.
Infant respiratory rate 30–60 and heart rate about 100–160.
Hypotension age 1–10: systolic below 70 plus twice the age in years.
Croup is gradual with a barking cough; epiglottitis is sudden, febrile and drooling.
Sunken fontanelle and few wet diapers suggest dehydration.
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Treatment priorities
What to do, in order
Suspected epiglottitis: keep the child calm with the parent and do not examine the throat.
Bradycardia in a sick child is a pre-arrest sign.
Report suspected abuse; document objectively.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
A quiet, floppy, drowsy child
Falling blood pressure
Injuries that do not fit the story
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Patient teaching
What patients must know
A brief seizure with high fever between 6 months and 5 years is usually a febrile seizure.
❓ Pediatric Essentials: NREMT FAQs
What are the priority actions for Pediatric Essentials in the field?
Suspected epiglottitis: keep the child calm with the parent and do not examine the throat. Bradycardia in a sick child is a pre-arrest sign. Report suspected abuse; document objectively.
What findings in Pediatric Essentials change your plan or your transport decision?
A quiet, floppy, drowsy child. Falling blood pressure. Injuries that do not fit the story.
What do I need to know about Pediatric Essentials for the NREMT?
Pediatric assessment triangle: appearance, work of breathing, circulation to skin. Infant respiratory rate 30–60 and heart rate about 100–160. Hypotension age 1–10: systolic below 70 plus twice the age in years. Croup is gradual with a barking cough; epiglottitis is sudden, febrile and drooling.
What should the crew communicate or document for Pediatric Essentials?
A brief seizure with high fever between 6 months and 5 years is usually a febrile seizure.
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Quick Tip
Pediatric assessment triangle: appearance, work of breathing, circulation to skin.