An Evaluation of Patients Brought to the Pediatric Emergency Department by Ambulance

Abstract

Introduction:Patient transportation by ambulance is a life-saving health step for patients with life-threatening conditions requiring urgent treatment. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively examine patients brought to the pediatric emergency department by ambulance affiliated to the 112 Emergency Health Services system.Methods:The files of patients brought to the emergency department by ambulance between 01.04.2018 and 30.06.2018 were examined retrospectively. Data concerning the symptoms necessitating the ambulance call, procedures performed in the ambulance, demographic data, social security, referral status, time and day of presentation, procedures performed in the pediatric emergency department, final diagnosis and outcomes were recorded. The triage status of patients not brought by ambulance, admission to the emergency department observation room, length of stay in the emergency department observation room, and hospitalization rates were examined.Results:The number of patients examined in the emergency department during the study period was 40,778, of whom 313 were brought by ambulance. One hundred seventy-three (55.3%) of the patients in the study were girls, and 140 (44.7%) were boys. The mean age of the cases was 95.92±67.5 (1-216) months. Examination revealed that presentations were more frequent on Thursday (19.8%). The evaluation of the emergency department triage status of patients brought by ambulance revealed that 8% of cases were red, compared to 0.3% in those not brought by ambulance. Hospitalization rates were 33.9% for patients brought by ambulance and 2.4% for those not brought by ambulance. Venous access was not established in the ambulance in 112 patients (35.8%) and was not established in 29 patients (9.3%) in the emergency department (p=0.001). The most common reason for ambulances being summoned was fever in 66 patients (21.1%).Conclusion:Health workers require greater training regarding what measures should be taken while transporting pediatric patients by ambulance. We conclude that patients brought by ambulance have a longer stay in the emergency department observation room, a higher hospitalization rate, and a high probability of receiving a red triage code. Multi-center studies are needed on the subject of pediatric patient transportation by ambulance.

Keywords

• emergency department
• ambulance
• child