Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026
Making MR Imaging Child's Play - Pediatric Neuroimaging Protocol, Guidelines and Procedure
Published on: July 30, 2009
Has clinical activity in paediatric neurology changed in the past 11 years?
B Martínez Menéndez1, E Escolar Escamilla1, A Pinel González1
1Unidad de Neurología Pediátrica, Sección de Neurología, Hospital Universitario de Getafe, Getafe, Madrid, España.
Insights
Demand for paediatric neurology care has significantly increased, driven by a rise in neurodevelopmental disorders like attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This trend highlights ADHD
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Paediatric neurology (PN) care demand is perceived to have risen over the last decade.
- Consultation reasons in PN have also evolved.
- A registry study in 2002 provides a baseline for comparison.
Purpose of the Study:
- To profile the demand for paediatric neurology care in 2013.
- To compare 2013 PN care demand with data from 2002.
- To identify changes in reasons for PN consultations.
Main Methods:
- A prospective registry of PN healthcare activities was conducted in 2013.
- Data from 2013 were compared with a prospective registry study from 2002.
- The study was performed at Hospital Universitario de Getafe.
Main Results:
- PN visits increased by 52.46% (1,300 in 2002 to 1,982 in 2013).
- Visits per 1,000 children rose by 76.32% (32.6 to 57.48).
- Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) became the most frequent diagnosis (27.6% in 2013 vs. 8.1% in 2002).
- Headache remained the most common initial visit reason (32.1%), followed by ADHD (19.1%).
- Epilepsy was the leading diagnosis for hospitalized patients (30.3% in 2013).
Conclusions:
- Paediatric neurology is predominantly an outpatient service with substantial recent growth.
- The increase in PN demand is primarily attributed to neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly ADHD.
- The impact of ADHD on paediatric neurology is comparable to dementia in general neurology.
Introduction:
We believe that the demand for paediatric neurology (PN) care has increased over the past decade, and that reasons for requesting consultations have also changed. The objective of this study is to complete a registry study to profile the demand for PN care in 2013 and compare results to those from a study performed in 2002.
Methods:
A prospective registry of PN healthcare activities was completed at Hospital Universitario de Getafe in 2013. Results were compared with those from a prospective registry study conducted in 2002.
Results:
The number of visits increased from 1,300 in 2002 to 1,982 in 2013 (a 52.46% increase), and from 32.6 visits per 1,000 children to 57.48 (a 76.32% increase). Outpatient consultations accounted for 92.2% of all PN consultations in 2013. Currently, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most frequent diagnosis (27.6% in 2013 vs. 8.1% in 2002). Although the percentage of headache consultations has decreased (19% in 2013 vs. 22% in 2002), headache was still the most common reason for an initial visit in 2013 (32.1%), followed by ADHD (19.1%). Epilepsy remains the most frequent diagnosis in hospitalised patients (30.3% in 2013 vs. 36.7% in 2002).
Conclusions:
PN is fundamentally an outpatient activity that has increased considerably in recent years. This increase is mainly due to neurodevelopmental disorders, especially ADHD. We might state that the role of ADHD in PN is comparable to that of dementia in general neurology.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
01:17Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution
01:23Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption