Asylum-Seeking Children with Medical Complexity and Rare Diseases in a Tertiary Hospital in Switzerland.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of asylum-seeking children with medical complexity visiting a tertiary care hospital in Switzerland, detailing their underlying medical conditions and management. Asylum-seeking patients with frequent visits between January 2016 and December 2017 were identified using administrative and electronic health records. Of 462 patients, 19 (4%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria with 811 (45%) visits. The age of the 19 patients ranged from 0 to 16.7 years (median of 7 years) with two main age groups identified:  12 years. Nine (47%) patients originated from Syria. A total of 34/811(4%) visits were hospital admissions, 66/811 (8%) emergency depar..