Pediatric emergency care: Determinants and systematic barriers

Abstract

Pediatric emergency care (PEC) encompasses the specialized medical care delivered to infants, children, and adolescents facing urgent medical situations, addressing critical conditions such as infections, allergic responses, seizures, respiratory distress, and trauma. PEC calls for prompt, focused interventions to address each child's developmental and physiological needs. The literature was searched using Google Scholar, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library to retrieve studies assessing quality indicators and outcomes in pediatric emergencies. The search was limited to papers published in peer-reviewed journals between 01 Jan 2000 and 15 Dec 2024. This review evaluates current PEC standards such as patient safety, diagnostic precision, timeliness, and patient and family satisfaction. Patient safety is vital because children are particularly vulnerable to medical errors, such as inappropriate doses of medication. The provision of high-quality PEC is hampered by systemic issues such as inadequate training, a lack of resources, and restricted access to treatment. Telemedicine, pediatric transport units, artificial intelligence applications for diagnostics, and simulation-based training are suggested approaches to overcome these challenges. Research networks and quality improvement initiatives are important steps to improve PEC care.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Diagnostic accuracy; Emergency department; Healthcare delivery; Pediatric emergency care; Quality improvement

Core Tip: Pediatric emergency care (PEC) addresses many critical conditions, such as infections, allergic responses, seizures, respiratory distress, and trauma. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library to retrieve the studies assessing quality indicators and outcomes in pediatric emergencies. This article showed the current PEC standards, systemic barriers to providing high-quality care, and quality improvement projects to improve outcomes. Telemedicine, pediatric transport units, and simulation-based training are suggested approaches to overcome these challenges.