BACKGROUND: Currently there is very limited data in the literature assessing the prevalence of antihistamine prescription, and there is no local prevalence data about the prescription of antihistamine agents among primary practitioner and emergency physicians. The objectives are 1) to report the prevalence of antihistamine prescription for children less than 6 years old with acute upper respiratory infection and 2) to explore the associated factors for the prescription practice. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. All consecutive cases of paediatric patients aged 6 or below who presented to the emergency department during a study period of one week from April 1 to July 4, 2009 with diagnosis of acute upper respiratory infection were included. Totally 162 patients were included. RESULTS: Among the 162 cases, 141 (87%) patients were prescribed one antihistamine of any group. Sixty (37%) patients were prescribed two or more antihistamines. In multivariate logistic regression model, age was found to be significantly (P<0.001) associated with multiple antihistamine prescription (OR=1.042, 95%CI=1.02 to 1.06). Years of graduation of attending physician for more than 5 years was also a strong predictor of multiple antihistamine prescription (OR=4.654, 95%CI=2.20 to 9.84, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In the local emergency department, patients' age and the years of graduation from medical school of the attending physician were predictors of multiple antihistamine prescription for acute upper respiratory infections for children aged less than 6.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiological data on elderly patients attending Accident and Emergency Departments (AEDs) in Hong Kong is lacking. The study aimed to examine the epidemiology of geriatric patient visits to AEDs in Hong Kong, including demographic data and predictors of life-saving interventions (LSI) and admission. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study of geriatric patients older than 64 years old attending three AEDs during the year 2012, with a sample of 1200 patient visits recruited. The data were retrieved from the medical records of the respective hospitals. Descriptive characteristics of the visits were provided. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the predictors of LSI and hospital admission. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 79.1 years. Totally 49.7％ of the patients were male. "Diseases of the respiratory system" was the commonest diagnosis in AEDs as well as that required admission. The admission rate was 56.8％. Logistic regression demonstrated that dependent activity of daily living (ADL), arrival by ambulance, and the higher number of co-morbidities were predictors of LSI, while advanced age, dependent ADL, institutionalized patients, arrival by ambulance, and higher number of co-morbidities were predictors of hospital admission. CONCLUSIONS: Ageing population is creating an imminent burden on the emergency service in Hong Kong. Previously unavailable epidemiological information about geriatric attendance to AEDs was described. This forms the basis for development of future studies concerning the medical services on this specific group of patients.