Emergency Room Admission for Newborns: How Many are Really Urgent?

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of newborns brought to the pediatric emergency room and determine the factors affecting hospitalization from the emergency room. Methods: The hospital records of all newborns admitted to the pediatric emergency department of our hospital between September 1, 2020 and September 1, 2021, outside working hours, were retrospectively reviewed. The season of admission, postnatal age, sex, immigration status, complaints of admission and clinical outcomes of the infants were analyzed. Infants hospitalized and not hospitalized from the emergency department were compared in terms of these parameters. Results: One thousand eighty two newborns were included in the study (median age: 5 days; 570 males). The most frequent admissions were in summer (259, 23.6%) and autumn (462, 42.7%). Hundred and forty infants (12.9%) were Syrians. The most common presenting complaint was jaundice (913, 84.3%). Forty-two (3.8%) infants were hospitalized. There was no significant difference between the infants discharged from the pediatric emergency service and those hospitalized with respect of postnatal age, gender, immigration status and application season. Those who were admitted with complaints of high fever (p<0.001) and with complaints suggesting dehydration (p=0.001) were hospitalized at a higher rate. The median length of hospital stay of the inpatients was 2 days (interquartile range: 1-5). No mortality was seen. Conclusion: The rate of hospitalization was found to be very low in newborns who were admitted to the pediatric emergency room. However, the risk of hospitalization was higher in newborns who presented with complaints of high fever and dehydration.

Keywords

• newborn
• emergency room
• hospitalization
• high fever
• dehydration