Disease Spectrum and Frequency of Illness in Pediatric Emergency: A Retrospective Analysis From Karachi, Pakistan

Background: The National Institute of Child Health (NICH) is the largest tertiary care pediatric hospital operating in Karachi, Pakistan. Its emergency department (ED) is always occupied. However, the spectrum of illness in patients presenting to this ED has not been investigated in depth to identify the most common presentations and to develop effective management for treating patients. Methods: This retrospective study included all children visiting the pediatric ED of the NICH from January 2017 through December 2017. Newborns to children 14 years of age were included, for a total cohort of 188,803 patients. Sociodemographic data and clinical information were extracted from the medical record. Univariate analysis was performed to determine the frequency and percentage for all the variables. Results: The cohort consisted of 9% (n=16,952) neonates (0 to 1 month) and 91% (n=171,351) older children (>1 month to 14 years). Among the neonates, 36.6% presented as triage level 1. Sepsis was diagnosed in 23.8% of neonates, low birth weight/preterm in 18.4%, and respiratory distress/pneumonia in 15.2%. In infants and older children, diagnoses related to the respiratory system (37.3%), gastrointestinal system (16.4%), and multisystem involvement (15.9%) were the most common. During the evening shifts, 38.1% of patients were seen, and on weekends, 51.6% of patients were seen. Sunday was the busiest day in the ED. Conclusion: The tertiary care pediatric EDs in Pakistan have witnessed an increasing number of critical emergencies over time. Respiratory and gastrointestinal emergencies form the majority of the ED burden. A surge of patients is seen on the weekends and during the evening shifts. The spectrum of illnesses should be investigated via prospective, longitudinal studies in other pediatric EDs in Pakistan to understand the trends and to provide the foundation for developing nationwide recommendations for improving pediatric emergency care.