PEDIATRIC MEDICAL EMERGENCY CONSULTATIONS: WHO, WHY AND HOW? ABOUT MOROCCAN 1000 PATIENTS

Abstract

The aim of our study is to draw up an inventory of the profile of the patients, attending the pediatric medical emergency department (PMD) at the Rabat hospital in Morocco, by studying the epidemiological aspects, the reasons, the circumstances, the relevance of the consultations, the reasons for the choice of PMD and the evolution after this consultation. The median age of our patients was 3 years. 69.8% were under 5 years of age, of whom 30.2% were less than 1 year old. The sex ratio was 1.1. Seventy-one percent of our patients came from a low socio-economic level. The most frequent reason for consultation was respiratory (28.6%), digestive signs (27.6%) and ORL (12%). Fever was associated with the reason for consultation in 29.2% of cases. 45.9% of the patients consulted between 24Hours and 72Hours after the beginning of the symptomatology. Only 16.6% of our patients were referred by a doctor. The choice to consult with the by the parents of our patients was justified by the request for a specialized opinion (42%) and the parent’s unsatisfaction with the primary health care structure (29.2%). 63% of patients required ambulatory treatment and only 21.4% required a specialized consultation.