ArticleBMC emergency medicine2021
Characteristics of visits and predictors of admission from a paediatric emergency room in Saudi Arabia.
Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- A mixed-method analysis to identify the current focus, trends, and gaps in health science research in Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Profile of Otorhinolaryngology-Related Emergency Department Visits and Revisits in a Tertiary Care Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Epidemiology and Patterns of Pediatric Visits and Referrals in a Model Primary Health Care Centre in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Chart Review Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- National profile of pediatric emergency medical service utilisation in Saudi Arabia: epidemiological insights for public health and paramedic preparedness.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- Evaluating Quality of Care in Emergency Departments: Perspectives of Patients' and Health Professionals in Saudi Arabia.Open access emergency medicine : OAEM · 2025Article
- Epidemiological Trends and Characteristics of Dermatological Conditions Presenting to a Saudi Major Emergency Department.Open access emergency medicine : OAEM · 2024Article
- The Prevalence and Utilization of Prehospital IV Access in Critically Ill Patients in the Emergency Department.Cureus · 2023Article
- The Changing Trend of Paediatric Emergency Department Visits in Malaysia Following the COVID-19 Pandemic.Cureus · 2023Article
- Factors Affecting Length of Stay in Pediatric Emergency Department in a Teaching Hospital in Saudi Arabia.Medical archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) · 2023Article
- The pattern of emergency department length of stay in Saudi Arabia: an epidemiological Nationwide analyses of secondary surveillance data.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Characteristics of Pediatric Primary Healthcare Visits in a University-Based Primary Healthcare Center in Saudi Arabia.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Practice of general pediatrics in Saudi Arabia: current status, challenges, and opportunities.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- Correction to: Characteristics of visits and predictors of admission from a paediatric emergency room in Saudi Arabia.BMC emergency medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
16 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Emergency Repartment (ER) is one of the most used areas in healthcare institutions. Problems with over utilisation and overcrowding have been reported worldwide. This study aims at examining the characteristics of paediatric ER visits, the rate of hospital admissions and its associated predictors at King Fahd Hospital of the University in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
methodsThis is a retrospective, medical record-based study. Variables included gender, age group, nationality, complaints, Triage level, shifts and seasons. Descriptive statistics were reported as frequencies/percentages. P-values were obtained through a Chi-Squared test while unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were estimated by binary logistic regression, where admission was considered as the outcome.
resultsThe total number of paediatric patients included was 46,374, and only 2.5% were admitted. Males comprised 55.4% while females comprised 44.6%. The most common age group were toddlers, and 92.4% of the total sample were Saudis. The most common complaint was fever (26.9%) followed by respiratory symptoms (24.9%). Only 7 patients (0.02%) were classified as triage I (Resuscitation), and most were triage IV (Less urgent) (71.0%). Most visits occurred during the winter months. Adjusted ORs showed that neonates had higher odds of admission (OR = 3.85, 95%CI = 2.57-5.76). Moreover, those presenting with haematological conditions showed an OR of 65.49 (95%CI = 47.85-89.64), followed by endocrine conditions showing an OR of 34.89 (95%CI = 23.65-51.47). Triage I had a very high odds of admission (OR = 19.02, 95%CI = 2.70-133.76), whereas triage V was associated with a very low odds of admission (OR = 0.30, 95%CI = 0.23-0.38).
conclusionsA low rate of hospital admission was found in comparison with other rates worldwide. This was mostly attributed to an alarmingly high number of non-urgent ER visits. This further emphasises the problem with improper use of ER services, as these cases should be more appropriately directed towards primary healthcare centres. Further studies to examine the impact of prioritising patients in the ER based on the identified predictors of hospital admission, in addition to the standard triage system, are suggested.
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