L’accesso al Pronto Soccorso pediatrico. Indagine epidemiologica in Friuli-Venezia Giulia

A descriptive study of paediatric access to the emergency service (ES) was made in five paediatric inpatient units of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, Italy. Access was low (0.2-0.3% of the paediatric population), where there was no ‘round the clock paediatric ES and much higher (1.9-2.2%) where such a service was active. Access was higher during the afternoon and was associated with social factors and convenience rather than with actual medical need. Only 4.5% of patients were admitted and 6.6% needed a short observation period.