Naslov
CROATIAN CHILDREN VISITING A PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT WITH HEADACHE

Autori
Plesa Premilovac, Zdenka ; Kovac Sisgoric, Matilda ; Lamot, Mirta

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, stručni

Skup
7TH EUROPAEDIATRICS CONGRESS

Mjesto i datum
Firenca, Italija, 13.05.2015. - 16.05.2015

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
headaches; emergency department

Sažetak
Background The aim of this study was to assess the etiology of headaches and factors related to the visits to ED of Children´s Hospital Zagreb, Croatia, in children reporting a headache. Methods Out of 12068 children admitted to ED in 2013, the headaches were present in 156 patients or 1, 3% (71 boys and 85 girls), age 11.43±3.18y ( 3-18y). Interestingly the girls were older (12.40±4.03 vs. 10.28±4.08y ; t=-3.246 ; p<0.001). 71% arrived as an emergency and 29% were sent by their pediatrician. Results Most of the patients arrived between the 14-22h but no differences were found according to gender (p=0.831). 83.3% of the patients arrived during the school year (3.17 per week) and 16.6% during vacations (2.36 per week). Most of the patients (58%) arrived within 24h since the beginning of the headache but interestingly more than one third waited over 48h to come to ED. The re-admittance (meaning the patients did not present at the emergency department for the first time with headache) was very high (48.7%). The difference was significant in infective etiology (53% of first admissions were infections, p<0.01), and in the tension headaches (30% of re-admittance were tension headaches p<0.05). The diagnosis were not significantly differently distributed according to the gender (Mann –Whitney U-test p=0.624).The tension and non- specific headaches occurred more frequently in older groups, (7-12 and 13-18y), while the infective etiology was more frequent in pre- school children (3-6y). MR imaging and CT was performed in a small number of cases. After the pediatrician’s medical exam the patients were sent to another specialist (40%), and some to more than one (12%). Mostly, they were referred to neuropediatrician (46%) ; ophthalmologist (15%) ; neurosurgeon (12%) ; psychiatrist (10%) , physical medicine specialist (6%) and others (11%). Almost 28% (44 patients) were hospitalized , 10% were examined in day-hospital and 62% were released home after evaluation. Conclusions The etiology of the headaches in most of the children who present to the emergency department with headache symptoms is not serious. Nevertheless, the purpose and obligation of an emergency department pediatrician is to exclude all conditions that could lead to the brain damage or endanger the life of the child by applying very specific and aimed diagnostic procedures including detailed somatic and neurological examination.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kliničke medicinske znanosti

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