Characteristics of patients and families who make early return visits to the pediatric emergency department

The primary objective of this study was to identify reasons why parents make early return visits, within 72 hours of discharge from a tertiary care pediatric emergency department (PED). A secondary objective was to investigate associated demographic and diagnostic variables. A survey was conducted w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Open access emergency medicine 2013-01, Vol.5 (default), p.9-15
Main Authors: Logue, Erin Patricia, Ali, Samina, Spiers, Judith, Newton, Amanda S, Lander, Janice A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Emergency service
Hospitals
Original Research
Parents & parenting
Pediatricians
Pediatrics
Surveys
Trauma centers
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Summary:The primary objective of this study was to identify reasons why parents make early return visits, within 72 hours of discharge from a tertiary care pediatric emergency department (PED). A secondary objective was to investigate associated demographic and diagnostic variables. A survey was conducted with a convenience sample of parents of children returning to the PED within 72 hours of discharge. A chart review was also completed for consented survey participants. Recruitment occurred from September 2005 to August 2006 at the Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A total of 264 parents were approached to participate. Overall, 231 surveys were returned and 212 (92%) charts were reviewed. The overall rate of early return during the study period was 5.4%. More than half of parents stated that they returned because their child's condition worsened and many parents (66.7%) reported feeling stressed. Patients were typically under 6 years of age (67.4%), and most frequently diagnosed with infectious diseases (38.0%). Patients triaged with the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) as CTAS 2 (emergent) for initial visits were more likely to be admitted on return, regardless of age (P < 0.001). Variables associated with early returns included young age, diagnosis, triage acuity, and parental stress. Future variable definition should include a deeper exploration of modifiable factors such as parental stress and patient education. These next steps may help direct interventions and resources to address needs in this group and possibly pre-empt the need to return.
ISSN:1179-1500
1179-1500
DOI:10.2147/OAEM.S43621