Hospitalization of children with down syndrome
Ariel Tenenbaum, Rana N Hanna, Diana Averbuch, Isaiah D Wexler, Maor Chavkin, Joav Merrick, Ariel Tenenbaum, Rana N Hanna, Diana Averbuch, Isaiah D Wexler, Maor Chavkin, Joav Merrick
Abstract
Introduction: Children with Down syndrome present with multiple medical problems in a higher prevalence compared with the general population, which may lead to hospitalizations.
Methods: Analysis of 560 hospitalizations of 162 children aged 0-16 years with Down syndrome at Hadassah Medical Center during the years 1988-2007 compared with data on children in the general population, hospitalized at the same period. Data was collected from patient files and statistical data from the Ministry of Health.
Results: Respiratory infections were the leading cause for hospitalization of children with Down syndrome. The number of hospitalizations of children with Down syndrome compared to the number of all children, who were hospitalized was surprisingly similar to their proportion in the general population. Eleven children died during their hospitalization (five heart failure, three sepsis, one respiratory tract infection, and one due to complication after surgery). Nine of the 11 had a congenital heart anomaly.
Conclusion: Children with Down syndrome can present with complex medical issues and we support the concept of a multidisciplinary team that has experience and knowledge to serve as a "one stop shop" for these individuals and their families, with timely visits in which a comprehensive evaluation is performed, problems attended to and prevention plans applied. In this way, we may prevent morbidity, hospitalizations, and mortality.
Keywords: Down syndrome; Israel; child development; children; hospitalization.
References
- American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on genetics. Health supervision for children with Down syndrome. Pediatrics (2001) 107:442–910.1542/peds.107.2.442
- Cohen W. Health care guidelines for individuals with Down syndrome: 1999 revision. Down Syndr Quart (1999) 4:1–15
- Saenz RB. Primary care of infants and young children with Down syndrome. Am Fam Physician (1999) 59(2):381–90
- Hilton JM, Fitzgerald DA, Cooper DM. Respiratory morbidity of hospitalized children with trisomy 21. J Paediatr Child Health (1999) 35(4):383–610.1046/j.1440-1754.1999.00386.x
- Selikowitz M. Health problems and health checks in school-aged children with Down syndrome. J Paediatr Child Health (1992) 28(5):383–610.1111/j.1440-1754.1992.tb02697.x
- Bloemers BL, van Furth AM, Weijerman ME, Gemke RJ, Broers CJ, van den Ende K, et al. Down syndrome: a novel risk factor for respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. Pediatrics (2007) 120(4):e1076–8110.1542/peds.2007-0788
- So SA, Urbano RC, Hodapp RM. Hospitalizations of infants and young children with Down syndrome. J Intellect Disabil Res (2007) 51(Pt 12):1030–810.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.01013.x
- Megged O, Schlesinger Y. Down syndrome and respiratory syncytial virus infection. Pediatr Infect Dis J (2010) 29(7):672–310.1097/INF.0b013e3181d7ffa5
- Tenenbaum A, Kastiel Y, Meiner Z, Kerem E, Abu-Libde A, Wexler ID. Multidisciplinary care of persons with Down syndrome in Jerusalem. Int J Disabil Hum Dev (2008) 7(3):355–710.1515/IJDHD.2008.7.3.355
- Wexler ID, Abu-Libdeh A, Kastiel Y, Nimrodi A, Kerem E, Tenenbaum A. Optimizing health care for individuals with Down syndrome in Israel. Isr Med Assoc J (2009) 11:655–9
- Tenenbaum A, Chavkin M, Wexler ID, Korem M, Merrick J. Morbidity and hospitalizations of adults with Down syndrome. Res Dev Disabil (2012) 33:435–4110.1016/j.ridd.2011.09.026
Source: PubMed