Child Health
Hospital Admissions
Children may be admitted to an acute hospital for a number of reasons including specialist diagnostic procedures, emergency treatment following accidents and routine, complex and life saving surgery.
In some instances the admission will be planned (known as elective admissions) and in some cases unplanned (emergency admissions). Children may be admitted to hospital as a planned day case where the patient does not remain overnight or as an inpatient (where they stay overnight).
This section presents information relating to children under 15 years of age who have been admitted to an acute hospital and have subsequently been discharged during the financial years 2003/04 to 2006/07. Note that 'acute' hospital care excludes obstetric and psychiatric services.
- Acute Hospital Admissions by type of admission
- Diagnoses
- Elective Procedures
Definitions used within this section
Acute Hospital Admissions by type of admission
Children under the age of 15 years are more likely to be admitted as an emergency rather than a planned (elective) admission. For example, during the period ending March 2007, 66.2 per 1,000 population were admitted as an emergency compared to 46.0 per 1,000 population elective admissions ( table 1/Figure 1 
52KB).
Admission rates to acute hospitals by type and age group for the year ending March 2007 are presented in Figure 1 . This shows that children under 1 year have the highest admission rate, largely accounted for by emergencies (240.5 per 1,000 population). It also shows that the number of emergency admissions decreases with age; the rate of emergency admissions is 96.0 per 1,000 population in the 1-4 age group and 39.5 per 1,000 population in the 10-14 age group. This perhaps highlights that children under 1 are more vulnerable compared to other age groups.
The main diagnoses in children admitted to hospital electively are presented in Table 2/ Figure 2 ( 158KB).
Figure 2 shows that in the year ending March 2007, 24.2 percent of all elective hospital admissions in children had a main diagnosis of 'Disorders of teeth, tongue and mouth'. The rate is highest for children aged 5-9 years (19.9 per 1,000 population) and is largely attributable to dental caries.
'Congenital anomalies', 'Neoplastic disease' and 'Disorders/diseases of the eye and ear' account for 10.4%, 9.9% and 8.4%, respectively, of all elective hospital admissions in children. 'Disorders/diseases of the eye and ear' are most common in the 1-4 and 5-9 age groups.
The main diagnoses in children admitted to hospital as an emergency are presented in Table 3/Figure3 174KB . Figure 3 shows that in the year ending March 2007, 21.1 percent of all emergency admissions in children are due to 'Symptoms and signs without a definitive diagnosis' (this consists of symptoms/signs such as 'Abdominal and pelvic pain' and 'Nausea and vomiting').
'Respiratory disorders' and 'Injuries and/or poisoning' are also common in children, accounting for 23.0 and 17.7 percent respectively, of all emergency admissions. 'Respiratory disorders' are particularly evident in the under 1 and 1-4 age groups with rates of 71.6 per 1,000 population and 26.8 per 1,000 population respectively. 'Injury and/or poisoning' are a common cause of emergency admissions amongst toddlers (1-4 age group) with a rate of 14.7 per 1,000 population. This may be as a result of increasing adventurousness.
Within tables 2 and 3, main condition classifications of 'Miscellaneous' and 'Other diagnoses' have been included. Both these groups are fairly heterogeneous and it is therefore difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions from the numbers relating to them. However for the purposes of completeness, both these groups have been included within the table(s).
The main procedures performed on children who were admitted to hospital electively are presented in Table 4/Figure 4 ( 213KB). Figure 4 shows that whilst dental caries may be considered to be largely preventable, 26.7 percent of all elective procedures in children during 2006/07, were related to 'Operations on the tooth including simple extraction'. This is particularly noticeable in the 1-4 and 5-9 age groups with rates of 10.1 per 1,000 population and 19.7 per 1,000 population, respectively. From 1st April 2001 any tooth extractions performed under general anaesthetics in children had to be carried out in a hospital setting. These data do not however include any tooth extractions in children that were performed under sedation by general dental practitioners, and any within the community dental services.
'Tonsil and adenoid operations' are also commonly performed on children, accounting for 7.2 percent of all operations performed for planned admissions. This is most evident in the 5-9 year olds with a rate of 3.9 per 1,000 population recorded as having a tonsil/adenoid operation.
Within table 4, a fairly heterogeneous main operation classification of 'Other procedure codes' has been included for completeness. Further information on the types of operations included within this group can be obtained from the Child Health Information Team.
Child Health
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