The characteristics of pediatric emergency department visits in Korea: An observational study analyzing Korea Health Panel data

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the characteristics of pediatric emergency department (ED) patients in Korea and determined factors associated with hospital admission after ED treatment. METHODS: Korea Health Panel data from 2008 through 2013 were analyzed retrospectively; we included patients under 18 years old who visited the ED at least once. We collected patient and household epidemiologic data such as sex, age group, region of residence, disability, chronic disease, household income quintile, national health insurance type, use of private insurance, and annual frequency of ED visits. We also examined data related to each ED visit, such as reason for visit, medical service provided, and hospital size/ownership. We then investigated which factors were correlated with case disposition (discharge home or hospital admission) after ED treatment. RESULTS: In total, 3,160 pediatric ED visits occurred during the six-year period. Males (57.5%) and children aged 0–5 years (47.7%) made more visits than females and older children, respectively. The proportion of ED visits for disease (67.7%) was much higher than for injury or poisoning (32.2%), and 452 cases (14.3%) required hospital admission. For hospital admission, the odds ratio (OR) of females was 0.73 compared to males, and the OR of children aged 6–11 was 0.68 compared to children aged 0–5. The OR of capital residents was 0.69 compared to province residents, and the OR of the highest income quintile was 0.51 compared to the lowest quintile. The OR of children with private insurance coverage was 0.49 compared to those lacking private insurance, and the OR of ED visits due to disease was 1.82 compared to visits due to injury/poisoning. CONCLUSION: This analysis of clinical and demographic characteristics of pediatric ED visits and hospital admissions can serve as the foundation of future prospective studies required for establishing appropriate policies for the Korean pediatric emergency medical system.