Main causes of pediatric consultations

Due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the number of pediatric emergency consultations and hospitalizations decreased, as is the case with the Hospital de Especialidades Pediatricas, but with the return of classes this month (April), for example, saw a higher number of respiratory diseases.

Every year, diseases of the respiratory system such as flu syndrome, pharyngitis, rhinopharyngitis, bronchitis, asthma, bronchial asthma attacks, pneumonia are the main cause of visits to the pediatrician, that is, in children up to 18 years old, explained Lucia Medina, a pediatrician with a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis on nutrition mother and child.

Medina from the Specialist Hospital for Children’s Diseases explained that at the beginning of the year, the number of consultations can be reduced for various reasons. factorsit is not raining, children are playing outside, and classes have not yet started, which is reflected in the decrease in cases diseases of the respiratory system.

In the second period of the year (May, June and July) there is usually a peak of respiratory diseases that reach maximum peak in September and October, to then decrease in November and December.

Maritzel Ríos, the mother of the family, commented that her daughter, currently in third grade, presented her first health problemsdeveloped by a bronchiolitis (respiratory tract infection), it is the most serious condition he had, since last year he has been to the clinic every three months coughs, viruses and infections.

Ríos emphasizes that when his client is on vacation, he leads a normal life and maintains healthyit’s just entering school and you start to compromise yours welfareTherefore, her daughter’s doctor concluded that “the school is sometimes not the cleanest environment in terms of air, fans and the classrooms themselves, and in the summer when there is more dust it is even worse, besides the fact that with so many children there is a source of infection”.

Burning garbage, a very common practice in summerit can also affect the occurrence of respiratory problems.

But diseases of the respiratory system are not the only causes consultation. According to Medina, they begin to appear in the first period of the year (from January to May). diarrheal diseases (second place), followed by a table of skin infectionspictures of jail, hematological problems (well below the first four causes), accidents and trauma.

The latter, accidents and traumas, are the main cause emergency servicesFor example, in summer, children are more exposed and in some cases do not have adequate places to play.

“These are requests that we see more or less urgently and can also be seen in peripheral objects throughout the country (polyclinics and health centers) with certain variations. Basically, that’s how demand (for pediatric services) behaves,” Medina said.

For the school season, other causes are usually present, apart from respiratory, but in a smaller number than the main reason for the consultation.