Disturbing trends: The epidemiology of pediatric emergency medical services use

Robert E. Sapien, Lynne Fullerton, Lenora M. Olson, Kimberly J. Broxterman, David P. Sklar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To compare pediatric ambulance patients transported for chief complaints of suicide, assault, alcohol, and drug intoxication (SAAD) with pediatric patients transported for all other chief complaints. Methods: An out-of-hospital database for the primary transporting service in an urban area was analyzed for patients 0-20 years of age from 1992 to 1995. Chief complaints by age, gender, and billing status were analyzed. Results: There were 17,722 transports. The SAAD group comprised 14.9% of all transports (suicide attempt 1.6%, assault 5.9%, alcohol intoxication 3.2%, and drug abuse 4.2%). The proportion of transports due to SAAD increased with age: 0- 11-year-olds (4.2%); 11-16-year-olds (17.5%); and 17-20-year-olds (20.3%) (p = 0.0001). Genders were equally represented in the overall group, while males comprised 52.6% of the SAAD transports (p = 0.032). In the SAAD group, the majority of transports for assaults (55.9%) and alcohol (58.8%) involved males, while females were the majority in transports for suicide (52.3%) and drug abuse (66%) (p = 0.0001). Reimbursement sources differed, with those in the SAAD group less likely to be reimbursed by private or public (Medicaid, government) insurance (p < 0.0001) compared with the overall group. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of pediatric emergency medical services transports are for high-risk conditions. This patient population differs from the overall group by age distribution and reimbursement source.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)232-238
Number of pages7
JournalAcademic Emergency Medicine
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alcohol abuse
  • EMS
  • Epidemiology
  • Injuries
  • Pediatrics
  • Suicide

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Emergency Medicine

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