title: Profile of patients visiting the pediatric emergency service in an Egyptian university hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The emergency department (ED) is an essential component of the medical service offered in any hospital. Yet, the published information about patients' profile and utilization of emergency services in both developing and developed countries is scarce.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to characterize the presentation and outcome of patients visiting the ED of a university-based tertiary pediatric hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a descriptive study reporting the profile of patients visiting the ED for 1 year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of patients visiting the hospital was 249,552, with a monthly average of 20,046 patients, including 3639 monthly ED visits. "Treat-and-release" cases represented 46.7% and infants represented the largest age group (44.4%). The main presentation was respiratory distress (24.4%) and wheezy chest (17.3%), followed by convulsions (15%) and then pallor (10.7%). Long-term illnesses were predominantly congenital heart diseases, cerebral palsy, chronic hemolytic anemia, and asthma. The overall mortality rate was 0.8%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Appropriate and ongoing data collection and analysis could guide more efficient utilization of pediatric emergency services to achieve better outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Cairo University Mounira Children Hospital (Abou EL Reeshe), the Pediatric Department, Kasr El Aini Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. hmbazaraa@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Hafez Mahmoud
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bazaraa
authors.forename: Salma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Houchi
authors.forename: Hanaa Ibrahim
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Rady
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006474:Hemorrhagic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology