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[Repeat consultations in pediatric hospital emergencies]
A Pérez Sánchez1, M Begara De la Fuente, J Núñez Fúster
1Hospital U. Infantil Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla.
Anales Espanoles De Pediatria
|April 1, 1996
Summary
Children with frequent emergency room visits often come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and have common illnesses. Improved health education is needed to reduce unnecessary pediatric emergency care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Social Determinants of Health
- Healthcare Utilization
Background:
- Excessive utilization of hospital emergency services by pediatric populations presents a significant healthcare challenge.
- Understanding the social and clinical factors associated with frequent emergency room (ER) visits is crucial for resource allocation and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the social and clinical characteristics of infants and children with excessive emergency service use.
- To identify factors contributing to repeated pediatric ER visits.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of clinical histories of 130 children (2 months to 10 years) with 10+ ER visits or 4+ visits in a year.
- Comparison with a control group of 270 children admitted during the same period.
- Statistical analysis to identify significant differences in social and clinical factors.
Main Results:
- Children with excessive ER use had significantly lower sociocultural levels (71%) and higher rates of serious social deprivation (17%) compared to controls (p < 0.05).
- Twenty percent had a history of febrile convulsions, and 33% had over four previous hospital admissions.
- Frequent consultations were associated with social deprivation, chronic conditions, multiple admissions, and proximity to the hospital (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Pediatric patients with recurrent ER visits are predominantly from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Many visits are for non-urgent, common conditions like upper respiratory tract infections, leading to excessive diagnostic testing.
- Targeted health education for these populations is essential to promote appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviors and reduce reliance on emergency services for primary care.