title: Autism in the emergency department.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This is a retrospective chart review of autistic patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) in a tertiary care pediatric center during the year 2011.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 160 ED visits by 130 patients, 25% of visits were repeated, and 20% were admitted to the hospital. There were 126 (79%) male and 34 (21%) female patients mean age of 12 years, 79% had comorbid health conditions. Forty percent were CTAS 2 (Canadian Triage Acuity Score) acuity, 42% of visits were CTAS 3 acuity, and 7% rated their pain as "severe." Visits were for behavior (10%), neurological concern (13%), 3% dental related, and the remainder were for gastrointestinal infections and other complaints. Average length of stay was 6 hours 21 minutes, with 2-hour wait to start assessment with physician.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Autism is a prevalent diagnosis and patients with autism are accessing the ED. We hope to use these demographic findings to better serve these patients and their families.
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada justine.cohen@mail.utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Justine Heather
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cohen-Silver
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Muskat
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada The Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Savithiri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ratnapalan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D014218:Triage
keywords: autism; emergency department; paediatric