CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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Multicenter Study
The impact of pediatric emergency department crowding on patient and health care system outcomes: a multicentre cohort study.
Emergency department overcrowding has been associated with increased odds of hospital admission and mortality after discharge from the emergency department in predominantly adult cohorts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between crowding and the odds of several adverse outcomes among children seen at a pediatric emergency department. ⋯ Emergency department crowding was not significantly associated with hospital admission within 7 days of the emergency department visit or mortality in children. However, it was associated with increased hospital admission at the index visit for the sickest children, and with return visits to the emergency department for those less sick.