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Too old for a paediatric emergency department? It’s complex
Date Issued
November 2020
Date Available
23T15:30:20Z July 2021
Abstract
Background: In Ireland, the paediatric emergency department (PED) is tasked with acute healthcare provision to children and adolescents under 16 years of age. The population > 15 years attending the PED remains undescribed. Aims: The objective of the study is to describe the presentations of patients > 15 years to the PED of a national tertiary academic paediatric hospital. Methods: A retrospective review of electronic records identifying all patients (> 15 years) who presented from January 2014 to December 2015. Patient demographics, presenting complaint, diagnosis, treatment and disposition were recorded. Results: A total of 71,082 patients attended during the study period; of whom, 426 (0.6%) patients were aged 16 to 61 years. Over half were identified as having clearly defined chronic complex conditions. Three hundred and forty-five (89%) patients were known to the hospital paediatric services and under the care of specialist with 131 (34%) patients admitted locally, all of whom had chronic complex conditions (CCC). There was a total of 44 (11%) patients who presented to the PED with de novo issues and had a variety of acute presenting complaints with minor injuries, syncope and chest pain being most common. Conclusion: This is the first Irish study demonstrating a significant population (> 15 years) with medical complexity that requires a suite of services in a paediatric hospital which is accessed in an unscheduled manner through an emergency department. We recommend further research to describe paediatric CCC attending Irish emergency and hospital services.
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Springer
Journal
Irish Journal of Medical Science
Volume
189
Issue
4
Start Page
1429
End Page
1433
Copyright (Published Version)
2020 Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0021-1265
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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