[Effectiveness of a short-stay observation unit in a pediatric emergency department].
Short-Stay Observation Units (SSOUs) in paediatric emergency departments are effective in reducing inpatient admissions but can also generate excessive short-stay hospitalisations. The aim of the study was to evaluate both these consequences and the different missions of SSOUs. This prospective study included all children admitted in a 10-bed-medico-surgical SSOU of a tertiary-care paediatric emergency department from September 4, to October 31, 2001. At the time of SSOU admission, the physician indicated the purpose of the admission and which decision he would have made in the absence of a SSOU. Five hundred and nine children (median age = 4 years, chronic disease: 26%, trauma: 34%) were included, accounting for 15% of admissions. The mean length of stay was 14 +/- 8h. The decision in the absence of a SSOU would have been: inpatient hospitalization (77%), transfer to another hospital in the absence of inpatient room vacancy (7%), discharge home (10%), prolonged waiting in the emergency ward (4%), do not know or not indicated (2%). The SSOU admission was deemed appropriate in 81%: discharge home within 24h was likely in 65% and the final orientation of the child was uncertain in 16%. The admission was debatable in 13% and inappropriate in 6%. Sixty six per cent of children were discharged home. The SSOU reduced inpatient hospitalisations, generated few inappropriate short stay hospitalisations, and seemed particularly efficient for paediatric diseases. Proposed indicators should allow inter-hospital comparisons.