[Repeat visits in a pediatric emergency department].

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Healthcare Utilization Research
• Public Health

Background:

• Frequent use of pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) poses a significant burden on healthcare resources.
• Understanding the characteristics of frequent users is crucial for developing targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize children with recurrent visits to a pediatric emergency department.
• To identify risk factors associated with frequent PED utilization in children.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 157 children with five or more PED visits in 2006 at Pellegrin University Hospital.
• Comparative analysis of risk factors and a phone survey with general practitioners (GPs).

Main Results:

• 30.6% of frequent users had chronic diseases.
• Key risk factors included young age (<1 year), living within 10 km of the hospital, parental worry, precarious socioeconomic status, and CMU (universal free health care coverage) beneficiaries (37.6%).
• Frequent users were more often hospitalized (53.3%) and consulted for medical (81.9%) rather than surgical (18.1%) conditions, with 25% of visits being true emergencies.

Conclusions:

• Frequent PED users comprise children with chronic conditions and those from vulnerable groups: young children, those living nearby, from low-income families, or with anxious parents.
• Interventions should address underlying medical conditions and socioeconomic determinants of health.
• Targeted support for high-risk families can potentially reduce unnecessary emergency department visits.