[A CHILD IS LOST: THE PHENOMENON OF REFUSING TO BE HOSPITALIZED IN FAMILIES OF CHILDREN REFERRED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE].

Background: Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) in pediatrics may endanger the child, increase the rate of complications, morbidity or mortality. Despite the prevalence of this phenomenon in the world, we found only one study that examined the DAMA phenomenon in Israel. The study examined the phenomenon in one ER in general and did not distinguish between adults and children.