2nd to 4th June 2023 in Stuttgart, Germany and

6th to 8th October 2023 in Hamburg, Germany

Applications for this course are welcome!

 

Overview

  • Target group: medical professionals with work experience, who are preparing for a placement abroad (e.g. physicians, nursing staff, midwifes, emergency technicians; no students, sorry!)
  • Course language: English
  • Organizers: working group ETAT of GTP
  • Stuttgart: Stuttgarter Pädiatrie- und Patienten-Simulator (STUPS)
  • Hamburg: Kinderkrankenhaus Wilhelmstift
  • Fees: Doctors 380€, Nursing staff 190€
  • Registration

 

The concept ETAT

ETAT+ (Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment) is a comprehensive and proven intervention developed specifically for implementation in first-level facility-based care in East Africa and Asia, thereby reaching the poorest and most vulnerable children in rural and periurban areas.

ETAT guidelines are designed to deal with common problems in paediatric departments in low resource setting where

  • Inpatient mortality is high.
  • Many of the patients die within 24 hours of admission

Common problems are e.g. inadequate service, low training level of staff, especially in emergency care, no or few written protocols, delays in initiating care. ETAT guidelines are developed by WHO and are adapted from the Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) guidelines used in western countries. ETAT guidelines are specifically aligned to common problems in the paediatric basic emergency care of in institutions with limited resources. They identify children with immediately life-threatening conditions which are most frequently seen in developing countries, such as obstruction of the airway and other breathing problems caused by infections, shock, severely altered central nervous system function (coma or convulsions), and severe dehydration in a structured and comprehensible manner and present simple yet clear guidelines for their medical care.

These guidelines were developed in Malawi, and were field-tested in several other countries including Angola, Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya and Niger.

In many places, ETAT is the cornerstone of decision making at first contact with a patient.

 

The paediatric ETAT+ course

The working group ETAT emerged within the GTP on the initiative of three alumni of the Intensive Course on Tropical Paediatrics (TropPaed), who have experienced the clinical significance of ETAT on various missions abroad. They have been trained as tutors and have lead trainings abroad. The first ETAT+ training by this working group was held successfully in September 2018 in Witten/Herdecke and received very positive feedback. The training is now becoming a regular event.

The course focusses on improving global child health through capacity building as well as assessment and treatment of sick children in low resource settings. It offers an introduction to a well-organized “critical care pathway” and good quality, basic paediatric emergency care, which can help to reduce paediatric hospital mortality.

Course objectives

The course is primarily based on an interactive training, skill stations and scenarios which are preceded by lectures on the topic.

  • Triage all sick children when they arrive at a health facility, into the following categories:
    • those with emergency signs
    • those with priority signs
    • those who are non-urgent cases
  • Assess a child’s airway and breathing and give emergency treatments.
  • Bag and mask application
  • Assess the child’s status of circulation and level of consciousness
  • Manage shock, coma, and convulsions in a child.
  • Assess and manage severe dehydration in a child with diarrhoea
  • Intraosseous canula insertion
  • Manage acute severe malnutrition
  • Manage a sick neonate and a premature baby
  • Assess and manage burns and trauma in a child
  • Plan and implement ETAT in your own working area
Impressions from the courses

“I liked all of the practical sessions – all very useful.”
“Very practical and structured training.”
“I liked the trainer team: good mixture, lots of experience, passionate teaching.”