Prevalence of occult anemia in an urban pediatric emergency department: what is our response?
Pediatr Emerg Care
; 28(4): 313-5, 2012 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22453720
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Treating or referring patients who are found to be anemic during pediatric emergency department (ED) encounters should lead to improved health in children and young adults. Before establishing guidelines how to approach the anemic in the pediatric ED, it is essential to determine the prevalence of anemia in the ED and our response to the presence of anemia.METHODS:
We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study on hemoglobin levels from patients 1 to 23 years evaluated in an inner-city public hospital pediatric ED during a 12-month period. The primary outcome measure was the prevalence of prior unknown or "occult" anemia, stratified by age, sex, and insurance status. The secondary outcome was the proportion of patients with "occult" anemia who had their condition diagnosed during their ED encounter. Descriptive data analysis was performed.RESULTS:
Our study population consisted of 2131 patients who had a complete blood count drawn in the ED. Prevalence of "occult" anemia was 13.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.5%-15.4%). Proportions among the subpopulations were 14.8% (95% CI, 10.0%-19.5%) in preschool children, 16.3% (95% CI, 14.2%-18.3%) in females, 18.5% (95% CI, 15.4%-21.7%) in the uninsured, and 20.7% (95% CI, 16.5%-24.9%) in females of childbearing age without insurance. Only 24 patients (8%) with "occult" anemia had the condition identified on discharge.CONCLUSIONS:
Anemia has a high prevalence in this pediatric ED population, especially among females of childbearing age and the uninsured. Pediatric emergency medicine physicians are missing on an opportunity to address a common health problem that is easily corrected with appropriate therapy and outpatient follow-up.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Hospitais Urbanos
/
Atenção à Saúde
/
Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência
/
Hospitais Públicos
/
Anemia
Tipo de estudo:
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Pediatr Emerg Care
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA DE EMERGENCIA
/
PEDIATRIA
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos
País de publicação:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
/
EUA
/
UNITED STATES
/
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
/
US
/
USA