Epidemiology of admissions in a pediatric resuscitation room.

OBJECTIVE: Describe the epidemiology of a pediatric resuscitation room (PRR). METHODS: A prospective study was performed in a pediatric emergency department (PED) from June 17, 2004 to March 19, 2006. Collected data were date and time of admission in the unit and, in the PRR, age and sex, geographical origin, mode of transportation, PED referral mode, diagnosis, evolution, and resuscitation techniques. Statistical analysis included a univariate analysis of hypothetical links between variables and their relation to the risk of death or transfer to the pediatric intensive care unit, then a multivariate analysis by logistical regression where the dependant variable was this risk. RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-one patients totaled 370 admissions. The male-female ratio was 1.3. Mean (SD) age was 5.5 (5.2) years. A quarter of the population was recommended for admission by a physician. Main causes were cardiocirculatory (32%), neurological (26%), respiratory (23%), and traumas (18%), and 17% were hospitalized in an intensive care unit and 4 died. Sixteen technical resuscitation procedures were performed. Children from 0 to 2 years old were more often admitted for cardiocirculatory insufficiency (P < 0.001). The children who were at higher risk for pediatric intensive care unit transfer or death were children from 0 to 2 years old (P < 0.001), an admission for respiratory insufficiency (P < 0.001), and an arrival by medicalized transport (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to national guidelines for PRR management, the teaching and knowledge of the different diagnosis admitted in the PRR and their resuscitation technical procedures warranty a serener approach of those stressful situations.