An analysis of one-year experience of pediatric observation unit: The first report in Korea.
10.3345/kjp.2007.50.7.622
- Author:
Jee Young LEE
1
;
Ui Yoon CHOI
;
Soo Young LEE
;
Ji Young LEE
;
Byong Chan LEE
;
Hui Sung HWANG
;
Hye Rin MOK
;
Dae Chul JEONG
;
Seung Yun CHUNG
;
Jin Han KANG
Author Information
1. Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine The Catholic University of Korea, Korea. dcjeong@catholic.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Pediatrics;
Day care;
Length of stay
- MeSH:
Asthma;
Bronchiolitis;
Child;
Day Care, Medical;
Developed Countries;
Diagnosis;
Emergency Service, Hospital;
Epilepsy;
Gastroenteritis;
Humans;
Inpatients;
Korea*;
Length of Stay;
Medical Records;
Otitis Media;
Outpatients;
Pediatrics;
Pneumonia;
Respiratory Tract Infections;
Retrospective Studies;
Seizures, Febrile
- From:Korean Journal of Pediatrics
2007;50(7):622-628
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: While pediatric observation units (POU) have become a common practice in hospitals throughout developed countries, there has been no report about POUs in Korea so far. The aims of this study were to analyze our one-year's experience of the POU and to decide which disease entities are suitable for the POU. METHODS: All children admitted from March 2006 to February 2007 to the POU at the Department of Pediatrics in Our Lady of Mercy Hospital were included in this study. Data were collected from retrospective reviews of their medical records. RESULTS: There were a total of 1,076 POU admissions. Median age of patients was 2.4 years and median length of hospital stay 14.0 hours. The most common diagnoses were gastroenteritis (42.7%), pharyngotonsillitis (19.1%), bronchiolitis (7.8%), pneumonia (5.5%) and febrile seizure (5.2%). Overall, 7.5% of the POU patients required subsequent inpatient admissions due to hospital stays of longer than 48 hours. The disease entities that were most likely to require inpatient admission were pneumonia (17.0%), febrile seizure (12.5%) and asthma (11.5%). Diseases that allowed successful discharge from the POU were gastroenteritis (4.6%), upper respiratory tract infection (5.8%), such as otitis media and pharygnotonsillitis and seizure disorder (6.4%). Compared with the previous year when the POU was not in operation, there was a statistically significant reduction in the average length of hospital stays (from 4.69 to 3.75 days), as well as a rise in the bed turnover rate (from 78.8 to 98.2 patients/ bed). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that the POU is efficient for the management of children with certain acute illnesses. Based on this study, we suggest that the POU be used as a new modality which links between the outpatient, inpatient, and emergency departments in the field of pediatrics in Korea.
