A recent study in the journal Pediatric Emergency Care reveals a possible connection between first-visit symptoms and hospital admission at a second emergency room (ER) visit. Researchers evaluated ER visits for neonates. A total of 147 infants averaging 16 days old at the first ER visit were used for the study. A second visit to the ER was noted within five days.
Patients returned for fever, respiratory distress, and hypoxemia. In all, 56 neonates required admission to the hospital on the second visit. The highest percentage of admissions were associated with gastrointestinal issues like reflux or vomiting, described in the first visit. Gastrointestinal issues were also the main reason for first-visit admissions.
Conclusion: Neonatal patients presenting in the ER with vomiting or gastrointestinal distress should be evaluated closely. About 33% of the patients in this study were diagnosed with pyloric stenosis at the second visit.
Source: Perry AM, Caviness AC, Allen JY. Characteristics and diagnoses of neonates who revisit a pediatric emergency center. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2013 Jan;29(1):58-62. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e31827b540e.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23283265
