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The epidemiology of pediatric visits to New Jersey general emergency departments
D R Zimmerman1, J R Allegra, R P Cody
1Department of Pediatrics, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Insights
Pediatric emergency department (ED) visits are common, with children under 2 and over 14 years old visiting most frequently. Males predominated across all age groups, and trauma visits increased with age.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Emergency departments (EDs) serve a diverse patient population, including children.
- Understanding pediatric ED utilization patterns is crucial for resource allocation and healthcare planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the epidemiology of pediatric emergency department visits.
- To analyze visit data by age and gender across multiple general hospitals.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes.
- Data extracted from the billing database of emergency physicians across ten hospitals in north/central New Jersey.
- Analysis included all patients under 18 years of age.
Main Results:
- Children accounted for 18.9% of total ED visits (241,839 children, 319,430 diagnoses).
- Highest visit rates were observed in the youngest (<2 years) and oldest (>14 years) pediatric age groups.
- Males predominated in all age groups, and trauma-related visits increased with age. Otitis was a common diagnosis, representing over 7,000 visits.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric patients represent a substantial proportion of emergency department visits.
- Healthcare facilities must ensure adequate staffing and resources to manage the needs of pediatric patients presenting to EDs.
Objective:
To describe the epidemiology of pediatric visits to the emergency departments (EDs) of 10 general hospitals by age and gender.
Design:
Review of ICD-9 codes from the billing database of a practice of emergency physicians.
Setting:
Ten hospitals in north/central New Jersey.
Patients:
All children <18 years treated by group physicians in EDs of study hospitals.
Interventions:
None.
Main Outcome Measures:
Diagnoses and visits.
Results:
There were 319,430 diagnoses recorded for 241,839 children (18.9% of the 1,277,233 total visits by all ages). The number of visits was highest in the <2 and >14 years age groups, with males predominating in all age groups. The number of visits from trauma increased with age. Otitis accounted for over 3% of all ED visits in this sample, over 7000 visits.
Conclusions:
Children account for a significant portion of ED visits in general hospitals. EDs need to be equipped and staffed to handle this clientele.
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