Patients with autism in the emergency department: cause of admissions and challenges

Objective: This study aims to understand the presentations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients in a tertiary hospital's ED in Turkey, and the difficulties of families face in emergency department (ED). Method: Clinical characteristics of ASD patients who presented to the ED between 1 Jan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of developmental disabilities 2023, Vol.ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), p.1-7
Main Authors: Bilginer, Çilem, Yildirim, Selman, Törenek, Rümeysa, Özkaya, Ahmet Kagan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to Health Care
Autism
autism awareness
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Barriers
Brightness
Caregivers
Children
emergency department
Emergency medical care
Emergency services
Epilepsy
Fainting
Foreign Countries
Health care
health services
Hospitalization
Medical Services
Mental disorders
Patients
Physical trauma
Poisoning
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Summary:Objective: This study aims to understand the presentations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients in a tertiary hospital's ED in Turkey, and the difficulties of families face in emergency department (ED). Method: Clinical characteristics of ASD patients who presented to the ED between 1 January 2015 and 15 November 2020 were obtained by retrospective file review. The caregivers of the patients who had presented to the ED in 2020 were interviewed by a phone call. Results: There were 740 applications of 224 patients (192 boys, 32 girls). Almost half of the patients were between 0 and 5 years old. Respiratory problems were the most common cause of admissions in all age groups. The second common reasons for ED visits were gastrointestinal problems in 0-5 years old, traumatic injuries/poisoning in 6-12 years old, and epilepsy/syncope in 13-17 years old. Psychiatric problems were less common (2.7%) than other reasons for admission. The most challenging issue for children was "the crowded waiting area, and the long waiting period" and followed by "physical restraint imposed on the child," "noise," and "bright light." Conclusion: As the clinicians' awareness and use of more accurate diagnostic tools have increased, the ASD prevalence has gradually increased. To increase the quality of healthcare services for these patients, awareness studies and new interventions are needed.
ISSN:2047-3869
2047-3877
DOI:10.1080/20473869.2021.2009996