Characteristics of Admissions from the Pediatric Emergency Department Observation Unit.

South Med J

From the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatrics Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston.

Published: September 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • * Researchers conducted a retrospective study on 520 patients aged 0 to 18, finding that the most common diagnoses included cellulitis/abscess, gastroenteritis, and bronchiolitis, with a notable percentage of patients experiencing secondary diagnoses.
  • * The findings will assist in understanding patient trends and resource use, potentially leading to improved care and indicator management for those requiring further treatment after EDOU observation.

Article Abstract

Objective: Emergency department observation units (EDOUs) are used to manage common pediatric illnesses and reduce the admission rate to the hospital. Most of these patients require a short duration of observation before a determination can be made whether they need to be admitted to the hospital or safely discharged home. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of admissions from a pediatric EDOU for the top 10 diagnoses admitted to the unit. This will help standardize the disposition of such types of patients from the ED, hence improving the efficiency of the unit.

Methods: We did a retrospective surveillance study of admitted patients from 0 to 18 years of age from the EDOU for the top 10 diagnoses. Descriptive data were reported using percentages and medians with interquartile ranges. Pearson χ tests were used to determine significant differences ( < 0.05) between the reason for admission and medical history.

Results: In total, 520 patients were admitted from the EDOU during the study period. The median patient age was 3.39 years, with most being Hispanic and female. The top three primary diagnoses of all admitted patients were cellulitis and abscess, gastroenteritis, and bronchiolitis. Sixty-three percent of all admitted patients had secondary diagnoses. Most of these patients were admitted to the inpatient unit due to progression of the primary condition.

Conclusions: The characteristics of admissions from the EDOU may help us to understand historical experience regarding diagnoses, timing, and indications of deterioration, resource utilization, and other metrics that resulted in transfers of EDOU patients to the intensive care unit/operating room/inpatient units.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001734DOI Listing

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