Related Experiment Videos
Pediatric emergency department walk-outs
L M dos Santos1, G Stewart, N M Rosenberg
1Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit.
Pediatric Emergency Care
|April 1, 1994
Summary
Long wait times are the primary reason pediatric patients leave the emergency department. Despite leaving, adverse outcomes were low, with lower hospitalization rates than those who stayed.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Long wait times are a significant issue in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs).
- Understanding reasons for patients leaving before evaluation is crucial for improving care access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify reasons why patients leave a PED before physician evaluation.
- To determine adverse outcomes associated with leaving a PED.
- To assess the impact of an ombudsman on patient departure patterns.
Main Methods:
- Prospective follow-up study of patients leaving a PED before physician evaluation.
- Data collected via medical records and parent/guardian telephone questionnaires.
- Comparison with a matched control group of patients who received evaluation.
Main Results:
- Long wait times were cited by 43% of patients leaving, and 19% included wait times as a factor.
- Patients leaving experienced significantly longer wait times (188 min) than controls (94 min).
- Of those leaving, 61% were seen by a physician within 7 days, 1.7% were hospitalized, and no deaths occurred. Hospitalization rates were lower for those who left compared to those who stayed.
Conclusions:
- Long wait times are a major driver of patients leaving PEDs.
- Leaving a PED before evaluation did not result in significantly worse outcomes, with lower hospitalization rates observed.
- The presence of an ombudsman was associated with an increase in patients leaving.