Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to describe characteristics of children referred from our outpatient department (OPD) to the pediatric emergency department (PED). Method: All pediatric patient charts from October 2018 to January 2020 who were referred from our OPD to PED were reviewed. The following clinical information was studied: demographics, (age, gender, distribution of patients by month) diagnosis, and disposition (admission, discharge). Results: During the 16-month study period, 867 patients were enrolled, 468 (54%) were discharged from PED, and 399 (46%) were admitted. In this study, 654 (75.4%) of the 867 children were aged <6 years. The three most common referred divisions of OPDs were division of pediatric gastroenterology (412, P = 0.000), division of pediatric infectious disease (182, P = 0.784), and division of pediatric neurology (99, P = 0.000). Conclusion: In this single-hospital study, children referred from OPDs to PED were more likely to be discharged from PED than admitted to the hospital. We suggest that effective communication with parents and well clinical evaluation may reduce unnecessary emergency resource use and inpatient admissions.
Highlights
Many studies have pointed out that the use of emergency medical care in children was mostly not urgent, and it is estimated that 59% of children's emergency medical use abroad was considered non-urgent [1,2,3,4]
In this single-hospital study, children referred from outpatient department (OPD) to pediatric emergency department (PED) were more likely to be discharged from PED than admitted to the hospital
We suggest that effective communication with parents and well clinical evaluation may reduce unnecessary emergency resource use and inpatient admissions
Summary
Many studies have pointed out that the use of emergency medical care in children was mostly not urgent, and it is estimated that 59% of children's emergency medical use abroad was considered non-urgent [1,2,3,4]. In the United States, children account for about 25% of all emergency medical use. Emergency department (ED) crowding threatens patient safety, increases medical judgment errors, prolongs hospital stays, reduces patient satisfaction, and jeopardizes the reliability and ability of healthcare system to effectively care for patients [5,6,7]. Previous studies reported that the quality of timeliness and effectiveness indicators showed a correlation between visits for pediatric patients with acute asthma attacks in the ED showed an negative correlation with the amounts of patient visits [8-10]. We aimed to survey describe characteristics of children referred from our outpatient department (OPD) to the pediatric ED for further survey the medical quality of PED and reduce unnecessary resource use
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call