Overview of Pediatric Emergency Department Visits, 2015

Excerpt

This Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Brief presents data on pediatric ED visits (excluding births), with children defined as patients aged 18 years or younger. The time frame of focus is fiscal year (FY) 2015 (from quarter 4 [Q4] of 2014 through Q3 2015), with comparison data provided for FY 2007 through FY 2014. In this Statistical Brief, FY 2015 will hereinafter be referred to as 2015, FY 2014 will be referred to as 2014, and so forth. The number and rate of pediatric ED visits are compared with adult ED visits in 2015 for three visit types: all ED visits, treat-and-release ED visits, and ED visits resulting in admission to the same hospital. Patient characteristics are presented for pediatric ED visits across these same categories. Trends in pediatric ED visits from 2007 through 2015 are provided by expected primary payer. The most common reasons for pediatric ED visits by body system in 2015 are presented, along with the most common respiratory conditions by age group. Finally, seasonal variation in pediatric ED visits involving respiratory conditions and injuries for 2011 through 2015 are provided. Differences greater than 10 percent between estimates are noted in the text.