Access to paediatric emergency departments in Italy: a comparison between immigrant and Italian patients

Aims: Direct seeking of care at paediatric emergency departments may result from an inadequate awareness or a short supply of medical alternatives. We therefore evaluated the care-seeking patterns, availability of medical options and initial medical assessments – with overall reference to socioeconomic status – of parents at an urban paediatric emergency department in a Scandinavian country providing free paediatric healthcare. Methods: The parents of children assessed by paediatric emergency department physicians at a Swedish university hospital over a 25-day winter period completed a questionnaire on recent medical contacts and their reasons for attendance. Additional information was obtained from ledgers, patient records and population demographics. Results: In total, 657 of 713 eligible patients (92%) were included. Seventy-nine per cent of their parents either failed to or managed to establish medical contact before the emergency department visit, whereas 21% sought care with no attempt at recent medical contact. Visits with a failed telephone or primary care contact (18%) were more common outside office hours ( p=0.014) and were scored as less urgent ( p=0.014). A perceived emergency was the main reason for no attempt at medical contact before the visit. Direct emergency department care-seeking was more common from the city district with the lowest socioeconomic status ( p=0.027). Conclusions: Although most parents in this Swedish study tried to seek medical advice before attending a paediatric emergency department, perceived emergency, a short supply of telephone health line or primary care facilities and lower socioeconomic status contributed to direct care-seeking by almost 40% of parents. Pre-hospital awareness and the availability of medical alternatives with an emphasis on major differences in socioeconomic status should therefore be considered to further optimize care-seeking in paediatric emergency departments.

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Severe alcohol intoxication among Canadian Youth: A 2-year surveillance study

Paediatrics & Child Health ◽

10.1093/pch/pxz152 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Amy Acker ◽

Mark L Norris ◽

Helen Coo ◽

Alexandre Santos ◽

Dominic Allain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Emergency Departments ◽

Alcohol Intoxication ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Surveillance Study ◽

Surveillance Program ◽

Young Adolescents ◽

Healthcare Facilities ◽

Paediatric Emergency ◽

Canadian Youth

Abstract Purpose To obtain data on Canadian youth, aged 11 to 15 years, presenting to paediatric emergency departments, with severe alcohol intoxication and to describe demographics, presentations to hospital, concurrent substance use, comorbidities, and short-term outcomes of admission to emergency departments. Methods Between March 2013 and February 2015, through the established methodology of the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program, Canadian paediatricians and paediatric subspecialists were surveyed monthly to identify cases of young adolescents presenting to paediatric emergency departments across Canada with severe alcohol intoxication. Those that identified cases were subsequently sent a detailed questionnaire. The detailed questionnaires were then screened to ensure the reported cases met the study’s inclusion criteria. Results A total of 39 cases (18 females and 21 males) were included in the final analysis. Overall, results indicate over 90% of presenting youth had consumed spirits, 39% had concurrent substance use and 46% experienced serious medical morbidity. Almost two-thirds of youth were admitted to hospital for a period ranging from 10 hours to 5 days; 12 youth required intubation. Follow-up referrals were provided to two-thirds of youth, with variable supports given. No statistically significant differences between sexes were noted for blood alcohol level or concurrent substance use. Conclusion Although rates of alcohol use in adolescents have been steadily decreasing, results from this surveillance study suggest that severe intoxication arising from the use of alcohol alone, and with concurrent substance use, results in significant immediate health consequences in young adolescents. Results from this study also highlight characteristics of patients, initial treatments and initial referrals across Canadian paediatric healthcare facilities, the results of which highlight variability and may aid in the guidance of a future longitudinal study, prevention strategies, and public health messaging.

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154. Telemedicine based assessment of CPR performance in paediatric emergency departments of Pakistan

European Journal of Emergency Medicine ◽

10.1097/01.mej.0000697836.10316.23 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (S1) ◽

pp. e8-e8

Author(s):

Waqar Ibrahim ◽

Sharmeen Nasir ◽

Huba Atiq ◽

Ali Ahmed ◽

Shah Ali Ahmed

Keyword(s):

Emergency Departments ◽

Paediatric Emergency

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134 Management of Acute Pain in Paediatric Emergency Departments: A Survey of Policies in Italy

Pediatric Research ◽

10.1203/00006450-201011001-00134 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 68 ◽

pp. 70-70

Author(s):

V Losacco ◽

M Cuttini ◽

G Messi ◽

C Tomasello ◽

P Ferrante ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Pain ◽

Emergency Departments ◽

Paediatric Emergency

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The current state of mental health services in Canada's paediatric emergency departments

Paediatrics & Child Health ◽

10.1093/pch/18.2.81 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 81-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Stephanie L Leon ◽

Mario Cappelli ◽

Samina Ali ◽

William Craig ◽

Janet Curran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Emergency Departments ◽

Paediatric Emergency ◽

Current State

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Equity in Paediatric Emergency Departments during COVID-19

10.1101/2020.09.25.20201533 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sophie Thorne ◽

Sunil Bhopal ◽

Christian Harkensee ◽

Alexandra Battersby ◽

Anna Brough ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

Child Health ◽

Emergency Departments ◽

Marked Reduction ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Collateral Damage ◽

Clinical Services ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Paediatric Emergency ◽

North East

Childrens attendances in paediatric emergency departments have fallen precipitously in North East England and elsewhere in recent months. We analysed data from 3 hospitals to understand which children were not being brought during the COVID-19 lockdown. In our population there is no evidence of a disproportionate impact on children belonging to vulnerable sociodemographic groups and no obvious change in illness acuity among those children still attending. However we noted a marked reduction in infectious disease presentations which might reflect one positive impact of enhanced social distancing on child health. More granular data describing the collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic to childrens clinical services are needed to plan for the mitigation of its continuing effects.

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