Morbidity pattern of emergencies at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (January-December, 1986)

A one-year retrospective study of paediatric emergencies seen at the Bustamante Hospital for Children for the period January 16 to December 31, 1986 is presented. Thirty-four per cent (3,918) of a total of 11,495 patients seen in the Casualty Department for 100 randomly selected days were assessed as emergencies. The most frequently seen emergencies were gastroenteritis (42.55 percent of total emergencies) followed by bronchial asthma (23.0 percent) and shortness of breath (16.51 percent). The rigid classification of emergencies by disease category needs to be reappraised (AU)