UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Emergency admissions and long-term conditions during transition from paediatric to adult care: a cross-sectional study using Hospital Episode Statistics data

Wijlaars, LPMM; Hardelid, P; Guttmann, A; Gilbert, R; (2018) Emergency admissions and long-term conditions during transition from paediatric to adult care: a cross-sectional study using Hospital Episode Statistics data. BMJ Open , 8 (6) , Article e021015. 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021015. Green open access

[thumbnail of e021015.full.pdf]
Preview
Text
e021015.full.pdf - Published Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether changes in emergency admission rates during transition from paediatric to adult hospital services differed in children and young people (CYP) with and without underlying long-term conditions (LTCs). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Emergency admissions between 2009 and 2011 recorded in the Hospital Episode Statistics Admitted Patient Care data in England. PARTICIPANTS: 763 199 CYP aged 10-24 years with and without underlying LTCs (LTCs were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes recorded in the past 5 years). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We calculated emergency admission rates before (10-15 years) and after transition (19-24 years), stratified by gender, LTC and primary diagnosis. We used negative binomial regression to estimate adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs). RESULTS: We included 1 109 978 emergency admissions, of which 63.2% were in children with LTCs. The emergency admission rate increased across the age of transition for all CYP, more so for those with LTCs (IRRLTC: 1.55, 99% CI 1.47 to 1.63), compared with those without (IRRnoLTC: 1.21, 99% CI 1.18 to 1.23). The rates increased most rapidly for CYP with mental health problems, MEDReG (metabolic, endocrine, digestive, renal, genitourinary) disorders, and multiple LTCs (both genders) and respiratory disorders (female only). Small or no increased rates were found for CYP without LTCs and for those with cancer or cardiovascular disease. Increases in length of stay were driven by long admissions (10+ days) for a minority (1%) of CYP with mental health problems and potentially psychosomatic symptoms. Non-specific symptoms related to abdominal pain (girls only), gastrointestinal and respiratory problems were the most frequent primary diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The increased rates and duration of emergency admissions and predominance of non-specific admission diagnoses during transition in CYP with underlying LTCs may reflect unmet physical or mental health needs.

Type: Article
Title: Emergency admissions and long-term conditions during transition from paediatric to adult care: a cross-sectional study using Hospital Episode Statistics data
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021015
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021015
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: administrative hospital data, chronic conditions, emergency admissions, mental health, paediatrics, transition from paediatric to adult care
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10051189
Downloads since deposit
140Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item