Characteristics of visits and predictors of admission from a paediatric emergency room in Saudi Arabia

7Citations
Citations of this article
30Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Background: The Emergency Repartment (ER) is one of the most used areas in healthcare institutions. Problems with over utilisation and overcrowding have been reported worldwide. This study aims at examining the characteristics of paediatric ER visits, the rate of hospital admissions and its associated predictors at King Fahd Hospital of the University in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a retrospective, medical record-based study. Variables included gender, age group, nationality, complaints, Triage level, shifts and seasons. Descriptive statistics were reported as frequencies/percentages. P-values were obtained through a Chi-Squared test while unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were estimated by binary logistic regression, where admission was considered as the outcome. Results: The total number of paediatric patients included was 46,374, and only 2.5% were admitted. Males comprised 55.4% while females comprised 44.6%. The most common age group were toddlers, and 92.4% of the total sample were Saudis. The most common complaint was fever (26.9%) followed by respiratory symptoms (24.9%). Only 7 patients (0.02%) were classified as triage I (Resuscitation), and most were triage IV (Less urgent) (71.0%). Most visits occurred during the winter months. Adjusted ORs showed that neonates had higher odds of admission (OR = 3.85, 95%CI = 2.57–5.76). Moreover, those presenting with haematological conditions showed an OR of 65.49 (95%CI = 47.85–89.64), followed by endocrine conditions showing an OR of 34.89 (95%CI = 23.65–51.47). Triage I had a very high odds of admission (OR = 19.02, 95%CI = 2.70–133.76), whereas triage V was associated with a very low odds of admission (OR = 0.30, 95%CI = 0.23–0.38). Conclusions: A low rate of hospital admission was found in comparison with other rates worldwide. This was mostly attributed to an alarmingly high number of non-urgent ER visits. This further emphasises the problem with improper use of ER services, as these cases should be more appropriately directed towards primary healthcare centres. Further studies to examine the impact of prioritising patients in the ER based on the identified predictors of hospital admission, in addition to the standard triage system, are suggested.

References Powered by Scopus

Validation of the "step-by-step" approach in the management of young febrile infants

256Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Emergency care in 59 low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

204Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Premarital screening for thalassemia and sickle cell disease in Saudi Arabia

195Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

Practice of general pediatrics in Saudi Arabia: current status, challenges, and opportunities

4Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Characteristics of Pediatric Primary Healthcare Visits in a University-Based Primary Healthcare Center in Saudi Arabia

3Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

The pattern of emergency department length of stay in Saudi Arabia: an epidemiological Nationwide analyses of secondary surveillance data

2Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Al-Qahtani, M. H., Yousef, A. A., Awary, B. H., Albuali, W. H., Al Ghamdi, M. A., AlOmar, R. S., … Al Shammari, M. A. (2021). Characteristics of visits and predictors of admission from a paediatric emergency room in Saudi Arabia. BMC Emergency Medicine, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-021-00467-7

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 5

100%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Medicine and Dentistry 7

64%

Nursing and Health Professions 2

18%

Social Sciences 1

9%

Psychology 1

9%

Article Metrics

Tooltip
Mentions
News Mentions: 1
Social Media
Shares, Likes & Comments: 8

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free