| Autor: |
Nicolás F, Vinelli, Carla, Mannucci, Natalia I, Laba, Lorenzo, del Vecchio, Andrea, Valerio, María I, Lago, María M, Nieto |
| Rok vydání: |
2010 |
| Předmět: |
|
| Zdroj: |
Archivos argentinos de pediatria. 109(1) |
| ISSN: |
1668-3501 |
| Popis: |
The primary function of an Emergency Department is to assist patients with acute conditions; however, many visits are for nonurgent reasons. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of nonurgent emergency department visits and to describe the reasons for them.Cross-sectional and descriptive study, conducted in a Pediatric Hospital. We included patients aged between 1 month and 18 years, who presented to the emergency department during the whole day, in working and non-working days. We defined as nonurgent visits those corresponding to level 5 in the Emergency Severity Index classification.We included 249 visits; 59% of which were nonurgent. The main reason referred was the difficulty to obtain an appointment in a primary care center (42.9%). Nonurgent visits were more frequent in working days (p= 0.007), conducted by caregivers living within 15 km of the hospital (p= 0.003) and those who used to visit the emergency department when they were children (p= 0.005). Patients with chronic diseases (p= 0.001), those who were referred by another professional (p= 0.002), and caregivers who lived without another adult in their home (p= 0.002) consulted less frequently for nonurgent reasons.Frequency of nonurgent visits was high. The main reason referred was the difficulty to obtain an appointment with a primary care centre. |
| Databáze: |
OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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