Pattern and Outcome of Diseases among Children Presenting in the Emergency Room of a Tertiary Hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Children's emergency care is a critical aspect of Paediatric health care.Evaluation of the emergency room would audit the quality of care provided and give insight into the epidemiology of the diseases that cause morbidity and mortality.Aim: To determine the pattern and outcome of diseases seen in the children's emergency room.Methodology: This was a retrospective review of the children's emergency room register of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt Nigeria from Jan 2015 to May 2017.Results: A total of 1965 patients were evaluated, and there were more males 1082 (55.1%) with an M: F ratio of 1.3 :1, their ages ranged from one day old to 16 years old with 57.1% (1131) aged < 2 years old.The five common indications for emergency room visits were all infectious diseases and they included malaria 360 (18.3%), sepsis 234 (11.9%), gastroenteritis 204 (10.4%), upper respiratory tract infections 173 (8.8%), and bronchopneumonia 155 (7.9%).The common non-infectious indications were trauma 115 (5.9%), acute asthma 103 (5.2%), and sickle cell disease 81 (4.1%).Among the children who visited the emergency room for a consult, 886 (45.1%) were not admitted, 893 (45.5%) of them were discharged, mortality was recorded in 62 (3.2%) and 81 (4.1%) left the hospital against medical advice.Conclusion: Children within the first 5 years of life constituted the highest number of patients seen in the children's emergency room with male predominance.Infectious diseases accounted for more than two-thirds of the cases.