[Demand for paediatric emergency care in a community hospital].
OBJECTIVE
To study the characteristics of paediatric emergency demand and care delivery in the emergency room of a community hospital.


METHODS
Analysis of the care demand and medical attention given to pediatric patients in an emergency room during 2006. Retrospective review of patients' medical reports.


METHODS
Emergency room, Hospital da Barbanza, Riveira, A Coruña, Spain.


METHODS
Random selection of 1330 patients from 3990 cases attended in 2006.


METHODS
Age, sex, time of arrival at the emergency room, type of pathology, medical-surgical area, destination on discharge, which medical staff signed the discharge, and length of stay in the emergency room.


RESULTS
There were 731 men and 599 women. Demand was greater on the afternoon shift (45%). Discharge destination was mainly to home (94%), with the emergency medical staff signing it in 60.7% of cases and the pediatrician in 34.6%. Children aged 6 or more suffered mainly from trauma; and younger children, from infectious diseases. There were no statistically significant differences between age groups for length of stay in the emergency room, but patients attended by pediatricians stayed longer.


CONCLUSIONS
There was a clear majority of little children, especially boys, in our study. Higher afternoon attendance probably occurs because of greater time availability of parents and children. Main causes of emergency pediatric care are infectious diseases and trauma. The child's home is the most frequent destination on discharge. The fact that most discharges are signed by the emergency doctor, together with the increase in emergency paediatric care in recent years, points to the need for constant updating of this medical area by emergency doctors.
Muñoz García
José Luis
JL
Servicio de Urgencias. Hospital da Barbanza. Riveira. A Coruña. España.
Fandiño Orgeira
José Manuel
JM
Díaz Peromingo
José Antonio
JA
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies