title: Hospitalization of children with down syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children with Down syndrome present with multiple medical problems in a higher prevalence compared with the general population, which may lead to hospitalizations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of 560 hospitalizations of 162 children aged 0-16 years with Down syndrome at Hadassah Medical Center during the years 1988-2007 compared with data on children in the general population, hospitalized at the same period. Data was collected from patient files and statistical data from the Ministry of Health.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respiratory infections were the leading cause for hospitalization of children with Down syndrome. The number of hospitalizations of children with Down syndrome compared to the number of all children, who were hospitalized was surprisingly similar to their proportion in the general population. Eleven children died during their hospitalization (five heart failure, three sepsis, one respiratory tract infection, and one due to complication after surgery). Nine of the 11 had a congenital heart anomaly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children with Down syndrome can present with complex medical issues and we support the concept of a multidisciplinary team that has experience and knowledge to serve as a "one stop shop" for these individuals and their families, with timely visits in which a comprehensive evaluation is performed, problems attended to and prevention plans applied. In this way, we may prevent morbidity, hospitalizations, and mortality.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Division, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center , Jerusalem , Israel.
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tenenbaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center , Hadera , Israel.
authors.forename: Rana N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Hanna
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Division, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center , Jerusalem , Israel.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Averbuch
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Division, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center , Jerusalem , Israel.
authors.forename: Isaiah D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Wexler
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Division, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center , Jerusalem , Israel.
authors.forename: Maor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chavkin
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Division, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center , Jerusalem , Israel ; Division for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Health Services, Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services , Jerusalem , Israel ; Kentucky Children's Hospital, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY , USA.
authors.forename: Joav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merrick
keywords: Down syndrome; Israel; child development; children; hospitalization