Young adults in children's hospitals: Why are they there?

Abstract

Objective: To measure the pattern of admissions of young adults to a children's hospital. Design and setting: Ten-year audit (1992-2001) of admissions of young adults aged 18 years and over to the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), Melbourne, with a detailed chart review of the 2001 cohort to assess disease complexity and transition planning. Outcome measures: Number of admissions, disease complexity; transition planning. Results: There was a significant increase in the number of young adults admitted over 10 years, from 308 in 1992-1993 to 659 in 2000-2001. The greatest increase was in admissions to surgical units. There was significant variation in admission practices between units over time..