Dicle Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Hastanesi Çocuk Acil Servisine Başvuran, children between theagesof 10 to 19 admited to pediatric emergancy department evaluation of disease distribution profiles

Adolescence period is the transitional period from childhood to maturity when the final rapid growth, sexual development and psychosocial maturement take place. Although this period is remarked different in various sources, 11-21 is accepted as the final age range. This period has complex development steps. Therefore it has peculiar problems. Main problems of this period are about physical growth and development, sexual development and psychosocial development. These problems require special issues, needs and approaches about health care. Concerns of adolescents on inadequete health insurance, inappropriate/ inadequate service areas and privacy concerns are some obstacles that effect their application to health centers. Studies show that large part of adolescents? benefits from health units consists of behavioral-psychosocial issues and traumatizations. Trauma, murder and suicide are leading causes of adolescent deaths. It is determianated that in developed countries unintented pregnancy, sexual transitively diseases and drug usage inadmissibly high. 80% of adolescent deaths between the age of 15-19 are consisted of trauma and violence. Recents studies show that suicide attempts, drug addiction and sexual transitively diseases have been increased and it is observed that primary health care places of these patients are emergency services. It is found that there are limited numbers of researches on why adolescent patients apply to emergency services. Generally, these studies evaluate the number of the people who apply to the emergency services and sociodemographic features such as age, gender, ethnical roots and information about health insurance, reason of application and diagnosis. Recent studies indicate that nearly half of the cases which are in adolescent age groups apply to emergency services due to nonemergency causes. Although children emergency services are not suitable to solve health problems increasement of patient application rates makes determination of adolescent emergency cases important. It is thought that age, gender, race, ethnic root and socioeconomic situation are key factors in adolescent emergency cases. In our country, we do not have a study that examine the clinical features of adolescent emergency cases. Aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological features of adolescent cases that apply to Dicle University Medical Faculty Pediatrics Hospital Children Emergency, examine the urgency of case and the factors that effect it. 2450 adolescent patients who applied to the Dicle University Medical Faculty Pediatrics Polyclinic Children Emercency Service between the dates 01,01,2012 ? 31,12,2012 were included to the study in order to determine the general distribution of diseases, frequency and density according to ages and months. 44% of patients that applied to Children Emergency Service were girls and the rest was boys. 2,5% of patients were 11 years-old. When all cases were evaluated; diagnoses of all months and in general total were respectively; stomachache, upper respiratory system diseases, fever, acute abdomen and AGE. According to frequency; stomachache diagnosis rate was first in frequency (n=635; %16,2). Upper respiratory system diseases were second in frequency (n=355; %9,0). Fever (%6,1), acute abdomen (%5,8) and AGE (%4,4) were among the other frequent diagnosis. According to months; except the September and December stomachache was the most frequent reason of application. In September fever and in December upper respiratory system diseases were seen frequently. Nonemergency application rates were high when frequently diagnosed cases in Emergency Service considered. It is observed that generally the patients who could get diagnosis and treatment in the first step applied to the emergency services. Most important reason of this is parents use emergency service for health service and consider the case of their children as serious. A satisfactory evaluation was unable to carry out because of inadequate registrations and pre-diagnosis and symptoms instead of final diagnosis.. Consequently; an effective emergency service plan should be made to make true diagnosis and appropriate treatment of urgent cases of emergency service patients. To adopt a standart software or revise the existent software in order to analyze the information and to commission more competent staff in medical documentation operations are also needed.