AHRQ Stats: Pediatric Emergency Care for Influenza

Among children visiting the emergency department for influenza in 2015, infants younger than 1 year old had the highest rate of visits (11.4 visits per 1,000 population) compared with children ages 1 to 4 (8.6 visits per 1,000). (Source: AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #242: Overview of Pediatric Emergency Department Visits, 2015.)

Overview of Pediatric Emergency Department Visits, 2015

Kimberly W. McDermott, Ph.D., Carol Stocks, Ph.D., R.N., and William J. Freeman, M.P.H.

Highlights

In 2015, there were 30 million ED visits for children aged 18 years or younger, with a rate of 382.9 per 1,000 population. The vast majority of these visits (96.7 percent) were treat and release.

Infants and children aged <5 years, representing 25.5 percent of all children in the U.S. population, accounted for more than 40 percent of pediatric ED visits in 2015.

Medicaid was the expected primary payer for more than 60 percent of pediatric ED visits in 2015.

The number of pediatric ED visits covered by Medicaid increased by more than 50 percent from 2007 to 2015.

During 2011 through 2015, pediatric ED visits for respiratory conditions peaked from October through March, whereas injury-related ED visits were more frequent from April through September.

Respiratory disorders, and injury and poisoning were the most common reasons for pediatric ED visits in 2015.

In 2015, upper respiratory diseases and infections were the most common respiratory-related ED diagnoses across all pediatric age groups, with the highest rate among infants aged <1 year.