Evaluation of child emergency applications of hightecnology dependent pediatric patiens

Introductıon and purpose:Advances in medical technology have increased the number of children who are dependent on medical technology for prolonged periods to sustain basic life functions. In our study, we aimed to examine the emergency department visits of these patients to shed light on the problems they encounter. Through this study, we aim to enable technology-dependent patients to receive faster and more comfortable healthcare services and to reduce the workload in pediatric emergency departments. Method:Children aged 1 month to 18 years who were technology- dependent and presented to the pediatric emergency department of Celal Bayar University Medical Faculty between October 2019 and December 2022 were included in the study. Patients defined as technology-dependent were those who used home mechanical ventilators, had tracheostomies and/or gastrostomies, and used nasogastric or nasojejunal tubes. The emergency department patient records were reviewed retrospectively. Results:A total of 367 visits were recorded for the 53 patients included in the study. The median age of the patients was 37 months, with 35 (66%) being male. The primary diagnosis was neurological in 49 (92.4%) patients. Of the visits, 357 (97.5%) were by ambulance, and 251 (68.3%) occurred during working hours. The most frequent reason for visits, without any specific complaints, was for routine check-ups, accounting for 129 visits. The most common reason for admission to the pediatric intensive care unit was pneumonia, seen in 84 (67.7%) visits. The follow-up location for 242 (65.9%) of the visits was the pediatric emergency department. Conclusion: The care of technology-dependent children is more sensitive and complex compared to other children. Providing training to caregivers, preparing video materials accessible to them, and offering education during pediatric residency to identify such critical patients early on would be beneficial. Additionally, the development of specialized home care services and palliative care centers for these patients could help share the workload and provide higher quality healthcare services. Keywords:Pediatric emergency, technology-dependent, critical pediatric patient.