Impact of follow-up calls from the pediatric emergency department on return visits within 72 hours: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES We compare the rate of return to the emergency department (ED) within 72 hours between families of children receiving a follow-up telephone call by a non-health care provider asking about the child's well-being 12 hours after their visit to the ED and families not receiving a follow-up call. METHODS This was a prospective, randomized study in which we conducted a follow-up call starting at 12 hours after discharge from the ED versus no call for follow-up. At 96 hours after discharge, we contacted all recruited families. We recorded the rate of return to the ED within 72 hours of discharge. RESULTS Of 371 families in the data analysis, 46% were in the study group, and 55.5% were male patients. Mean age was 5.7 years. The outcome measure was found to be in contrary to our hypothesis. We found return visits to the ED in 24 (14%) of the children in the study group compared with only 14 (7%) in the control group (P < 0.03). All other parameters were not statistically different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS Emergency departments practicing follow-up calls by non-health care providers should consider a forecasted increase in return rates.