SynthesisBMJ open2020
Sex-specific differences in children attending the emergency department: prospective observational study.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Healthcare-Seeking Behaviors in a Depopulated Rural Area of Shiga Prefecture, Japan in 2025: A Descriptive Study Using the Ecology of Medical Care Model.Journal of general and family medicine · 2026Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and preventive health care among rural US children: A cross-sectional examination of 2022 National Health Interview Survey data.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2025Article
- Sex differences in asthma and COPD hospital admission, readmission and mortality.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Article
- Proportional Trends in Pediatric Opioid Prescribing Between 2005 and 2016 by Age Group, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, Language, and Payer Status from a Large Children's Hospital in the Southwest United States.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- One-year emergency department visits for children < 18 years of age, associated factors and frequency of primary general practitioner or pediatrician visits before: a French observational study (2018-19).BMC primary care · 2024Observational
- Sex differences in children operated with pyeloplasty for pelvoureteric junction obstruction.Pediatric surgery international · 2023Article
- Factors Associated With Inpatient Subspecialty Consultation Patterns Among Pediatric Hospitalists.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Observational
- Shortness of breath in children at the emergency department: Variability in management in Europe.PloS one · 2021Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 7 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the role of sex in the presentation and management of children attending the emergency department (ED).
designThe TrIAGE project (TRiage Improvements Across General Emergency departments), a prospective observational study based on curated electronic health record data.
settingFive diverse European hospitals in four countries (Austria, The Netherlands, Portugal, UK).
participantsAll consecutive paediatric ED visits of children under the age of 16 during the study period (8-36 months between 2012 and 2015).
main outcome measuresThe association between sex (male of female) and diagnostic tests and disease management in general paediatric ED visits and in subgroups presenting with trauma or musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems and fever. Results from the different hospitals were pooled in a random effects meta-analysis.
results116 172 ED visits were included of which 63 042 (54%) by boys and 53 715 (46%) by girls. Boys accounted for the majority of ED visits in childhood, and girls in adolescence. After adjusting for age, triage urgency and clinical presentation, girls had more laboratory tests compared with boys (pooled OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.15). Additionally, girls had more laboratory tests in ED visits for respiratory problems (pooled OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.26) and more imaging in visits for trauma or musculoskeletal problems (pooled OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.20) and respiratory conditions (pooled OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.24). Girls with respiratory problems were less often treated with inhalation medication (pooled OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.83). There was no difference in hospital admission between the sexes (pooled OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.04).
conclusionIn childhood, boys represent the majority of ED visits and they receive more inhalation medication. Unexpectedly, girls receive more diagnostic tests compared with boys. Further research is needed to investigate whether this is due to pathophysiological differences and differences in disease course, whether girls present signs and symptoms differently, or whether sociocultural factors are responsible.
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