A Retrospective Evaluation of Patients Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department with the Complaint of Pain

Abstract

Introduction:The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the age and gender profiles of patients in the 0-18 age group, who presented to the pediatric emergency department with the complaint of pain.Methods:A total of 7712 patients aged 0-18, who presented to the pediatric emergency department of a state hospital between 01.01.2017 and 31.12.2017 with the complaint of pain, were included in this study. The data acquired from the Patient Information Management System (PIMS) program were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel program.Results:Of the 7712 patients, 62.1% were girl and 26.6% were in the age group of 15-18 years. The presenting complaints were stomach ache (77.5%), headache (6.4%), chest pain (6%), myalgia (4.7%), dysmenorrhea (2.9%), arthralgia (1.8%) and low back pain (0.7%). Stomach ache was more frequent among girls in the age group of 0-4 years (24%), headache among girls in the age group of 15-18 years (28%), chest pain among boys in the age group of 10-14 years (27.7%), myalgia among boys in the age group of 15-18 years (29%), dysmenorrhea among girls in the age group of 15-18 years (91.6%), arthralgia among girls in the age group of 15-18 years (22.9%), and low back pain among boys in the age group of 15-18 years (39.6%).Conclusion:It was concluded that girls and children in the age group of 15-18 years applied more frequently to the emergency department due to pain and, in terms of their diagnoses, they were the patients who could also receive treatment in primary healthcare services and general outpatient clinics.

Keywords

• Emergency service
• pain
• child
• nursing