BACKGROUND The disease burden of influenza infection among children is not well established. We conducted a population-based surveillance of medical visits associated with laboratory-confirmed influenza. METHODS Eligible children were younger than five years of age, resided in three U.S. counties, and had a medical visit for an acute respiratory tract infection or fever. Nasal and throat swab...

BACKGROUND Air pollution from vehicular traffic has been associated with respiratory diseases. In Palermo, the largest metropolitan area in Sicily, urban air pollution is mainly addressed to traffic-related pollution because of lack of industrial settlements, and the presence of a temperate climate that contribute to the limited use of domestic heating plants. This study aimed to investigate th...

OBJECTIVE Outbreaks of transmissible respiratory infection are suspected to have significant effects on the health of pediatric and geriatric patients. The objective was to assess the impact of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak on the use of emergency resources. METHODS An ecologic analysis of emergency department (ED) records between September and December 2015, was perfor...

BACKGROUND An increased number of emergency visits at the end of life may indicate poor-quality cancer care. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence and utilization of emergency visits and to explore the reasons for emergency department (ED) visits among cancer patients at the end of life. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was performed by tracking one year of ambulatory medical serv...

BACKGROUND The adverse respiratory effects of ground-level ozone are well established. Ozone is the air pollutant most consistently projected to increase under future climate change. PURPOSE To project future pediatric asthma emergency department visits associated with ground-level ozone changes, comparing 1990s to 2020s. METHODS This study assessed future numbers of asthma emergency depart...

OBJECTIVES This report describes ambulatory care visits to hospital emergency departments in the United States. Statistics are presented on selected patient and visit characteristics. METHODS The data presented in this report were collected from the 1997 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). NHAMCS is part of the ambulatory care component of the National Health Care Surve...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the frequency of infectious disease (ID)-related emergency department (ED) visits of elderly adults in the United States. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis. SETTING Nationwide emergency department sample in 2011-12. PARTICIPANTS Individuals in the ED aged 65 and older with a primary diagnosis of an ID. MEASUREMENTS ID-related ED visits, hospitalizations, hospital...

BACKGROUND Short-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations has been associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Determining which sources of PM2.5 are most toxic can help guide targeted reduction of PM2.5. However, conducting multicity epidemiologic studies of sources is difficult because source-specific PM2.5 is not directly measured, and source chemical co...

Ambient air pollution has been linked with a number of adverse respiratory health outcomes. Earlier studies have shown that population exposure to ambient air pollution increases visits to emergency rooms and hospital admissions due to respiratory complaints. Exposure in vulnerable populations has also been shown to increase mortality risks. However, there is a need to better evaluate exposure-...