In Chile, approximately 800 children under the age of 15 years die from a variety of causes, including life-limiting conditions (LLC). The Chilean Society of Pediatrics established a Committee on Children and Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs (NANEAS), which established guidelines for comprehensive care of these patients, including palliative care (PC). It is essential to know the number and characteristics of patients with LLC, in order to develop programs for outpatient care under the supervision of multidisciplinary teams.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of patients with LLC in a high complexity pediatric hospital.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the discharges from General Pediatric Units and the Critical Patient Unit at the Roberto del Rio Hospital during 2009 and 2010. We selected patients with LLC according to ICD-10. Their demographic characteristics were registered and classified into the four ACT groups. Patients with advanced cancer were excluded.
Results: Of 6585 patients discharged, 190 were diagnosed as LLC (2.89%). Infants were the largest group (33%). 51.6% of patients belonged to group 4 (severe cerebral palsy, genopathies, serious sequelae of traumatic brain injury) and all were attended by at least three specialists.
CONCLUSION: Children with LLC are an emerging group among hospitalized pediatric patients and they are demanding attention of high complexity. It is a challenge to design and implement public policies that can optimize health care for these patients, and facilitate the establishement of specialized units for this purpose, including PC.
KEYWORDS: children, teenagers, special needs in health, palliative care, life-limiting conditions. |
