Characteristics of pediatric emergency patients in a Turkish tertiary-level hospital: A 1-year cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: Overcrowding in pediatric emergency departments negatively affects the quality of care. Investigating the characteristics of the patients admitted to PEDs will provide valuable information to increase the satisfaction of patients and healthcare staff. This research aimed to investigate the characteristics of pediatric emergency patients in a foundation university hospital in Ankara. Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive, single-center, cross-sectional study, which was conducted with 6550 patients who were admitted to the pediatric emergency department of a foundation university hospital in Ankara, and got diagnosed with one of the 15 most common diseases between 1 August 2017 and 31 July 2018. The associations between the demographics and clinical features of the patients and their diagnoses were evaluated. For comparisons, frequencies, percentages, crosstabs, and chi-square tests were used. Results: While none of the patients had a red triage level, 19% had a yellow triage level, and 81% had a green triage level. The three most common diagnoses were fever of unknown origin, cough, and nausea and vomiting. Despite the 0–28 days of age group having the lowest admission rate of 5%, they had the highest usage rate of yellow triage level (66.5%). However, it was the opposite for the 19 months to 5 years of age group with the highest rate of admissions of 49% and the lowest usage rate of yellow triage level (12.8%). Conclusion: The reasons for admitting to pediatric emergency department differ according to some contextual variables. Being aware of the current situation is the first step in planning for better pediatric emergency service.