Abstract
Background
The research aimed to describe a cohort of 9000 children with fever visiting Children's Clinical University Hospital (only paediatric tertiary hospital in Latvia with ≥30000 total annual ED visits) Emergency Department (ED) and their treatment outcomes. This cohort forms a comparison group for future study in 2024 to evaluate how the population has changed in 5 years.
Method
Children aged 0-18 years presenting to ED with fever ≥38.0°C (at ED or 72 hours before ED visit) were recruited during 2017 (whole year) within MOFICHE (Management and Outcome of Fever in Children in Europe) substudy of PERFORM project.
Results
Majority of patients were young (median age 2.86 years [IQR 1.53–5.66], 53.9% male), healthy (comorbidities reported in 9.5%), self-referred (53.2%) or referred by Emergency medical service (41.6%) with a short duration of fever (<24 hours (29.8%), 24-48 hours (40.6%)). Standard triage urgency category was assigned to 56.9%, urgent to 33.3%, very urgent to 9.6% of patients, immediate lifesaving interventions were reported in 0.7% and oxygen therapy in 0.6% of patients. Antibacterial therapy at ED level was prescribed in 34.5% of patients.
Majority of the patients (71.1%) were discharged from ED, 27.9% were admitted to a general ward and 0.3% to intensive care unit.
Conclusions/Learning Points
The findings indicate a need for improvements in the following areas: parental knowledge about fever, patient assessment and management in both primary care and ED. The comparative study started in 2024 will provide a possibility to identify persisting or emerging imperfections.
The research aimed to describe a cohort of 9000 children with fever visiting Children's Clinical University Hospital (only paediatric tertiary hospital in Latvia with ≥30000 total annual ED visits) Emergency Department (ED) and their treatment outcomes. This cohort forms a comparison group for future study in 2024 to evaluate how the population has changed in 5 years.
Method
Children aged 0-18 years presenting to ED with fever ≥38.0°C (at ED or 72 hours before ED visit) were recruited during 2017 (whole year) within MOFICHE (Management and Outcome of Fever in Children in Europe) substudy of PERFORM project.
Results
Majority of patients were young (median age 2.86 years [IQR 1.53–5.66], 53.9% male), healthy (comorbidities reported in 9.5%), self-referred (53.2%) or referred by Emergency medical service (41.6%) with a short duration of fever (<24 hours (29.8%), 24-48 hours (40.6%)). Standard triage urgency category was assigned to 56.9%, urgent to 33.3%, very urgent to 9.6% of patients, immediate lifesaving interventions were reported in 0.7% and oxygen therapy in 0.6% of patients. Antibacterial therapy at ED level was prescribed in 34.5% of patients.
Majority of the patients (71.1%) were discharged from ED, 27.9% were admitted to a general ward and 0.3% to intensive care unit.
Conclusions/Learning Points
The findings indicate a need for improvements in the following areas: parental knowledge about fever, patient assessment and management in both primary care and ED. The comparative study started in 2024 will provide a possibility to identify persisting or emerging imperfections.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | EP840 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
| Event | 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) - Bella Center Copenhagen, Center Boulevard 5, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark Duration: 20 May 2024 → 24 May 2024 Conference number: 42 https://espidmeeting.org/ |
Conference
| Conference | 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ESPID2024 |
| Country/Territory | Denmark |
| City | Copenhagen |
| Period | 20/05/24 → 24/05/24 |
| Internet address |
Field of Science*
- 3.2 Clinical medicine
- 3.3 Health sciences
Publication Type*
- 3.4. Other publications in conference proceedings (including local)