The most common neonatal presentations to the pediatric emergency department

Abstract

Introduction The first 28 days of life are considered the neonatal period, when pediatric health is most vulnerable. While crises can undoubtedly arise during this time, many ED or urgent care visits could be avoided with sufficient preventive hospital care during the newborn period and suitable follow-up with a primary care physician. The use of emergency rooms for non-urgent care could be the cause of rising healthcare costs and ineffective resource use. Purpose This study aimed to determine the presenting features, management, and disposition of neonatal attendance in the emergency department. Methods This was a retrospective observational cross-sectional study of medical records identified via the emergency department of neonatal visits (≤28 days) to King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU), Khobar, Saudi Arabia, over 12 months (2021–2022). The Chi-square test was performed to compare various etiologies, with a 5% significance level. Results A total of 649 neonate visited pediatric emergency department with a mean age of 15.5 ± 7.4 days and almost equal distribution of the gender. The most common presentation was upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) (26.8%), followed by physiological jaundice (20.2%), and colic (14%). A total of 205 (31.6%) neonates who visited the ED showed significant laboratory findings. Seventy-nine patients (12.2%) presenting with PED were admitted to the hospital. Conclusion Healthcare systems must devise strategies to address the growing number of non-urgent visits to emergency departments in a more efficient manner, while simultaneously reallocating scarce resources to higher-acuity cases. This emphasizes the necessity of health personnel educating caregivers. It’s also critical that medical professionals understand the common ailments that affect newborns and are skilled at correctly identifying ailments that could indicate a serious pathology.