Aim

Neurological disorders are one of the reasons for admission in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs). We aimed to evaluate the frequency of neurological disorders seen in a large tertiary PED.

Methods

We conducted a one-year retrospective study that included 1471 medical records. Inclusion was based on the main complaint recorded by nurses at triage. We also retrieved the final diagnoses and the investigations performed in the PED.

Results

About 3.4% of the yearly admissions was based on a neurologic complaint on arrival. The final diagnosis was of a neurologic disorder in 1237 children, 2% of which were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. An opinion from a child neurologist was requested for 33% of the children. Seizures were the most frequent reason for admission, followed by headaches. A previous visit to the PED in the past six months was a frequent finding (40%), and about one third of the patients with a neurologic diagnosis (except headaches) was already being followed by a child neurologist.

Interpretation

Neurological disorders are frequent in our PED and are mainly represented by seizures and headaches. Appropriate training in epileptology might be helpful for healthcare professional working in PEDs.

中文翻译：

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小儿急诊科遇到神经系统疾病

目标

神经系统疾病是小儿急诊科（PED）入院的原因之一。我们旨在评估在大型三级PED中出现的神经系统疾病的频率。

方法

我们进行了为期一年的回顾性研究，其中包括1471份病历。纳入的依据是分诊时护士记录的主要投诉。我们还检索了在PED中进行的最终诊断和调查。

结果

每年入院的患者中约有3.4％基于到达时的神经系统疾病投诉。最终诊断为1237名儿童患有神经系统疾病，其中2％的儿童被送往小儿重症监护室。要求儿童神经科医生对33％的儿童发表意见。癫痫发作是最常见的入院原因，其次是头痛。在过去的六个月中，前一次访问PED是一个经常性的发现（40％），并且约有三分之一的神经系统诊断患者（头痛除外）已经由一名儿童神经科医生随访。

解释

神经系统疾病在我们的PED中很常见，主要表现为癫痫发作和头痛。对癫痫病学进行适当的培训可能对在PED中工作的医疗保健专业人员有所帮助。