Minority ethnic and deprived children more likely to die after UK intensive care admission | Health
Minority ethnic children and children from disadvantaged backgrounds through the United Kingdom are more likely to die after admission to intensive care than their white and richer counterparts, a study revealed.
These children have constantly worse results after their stay in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) discovered the research of the Imperial College London academics.
The study has shown that they were more likely to arrive at seriously ill intensive care, more likely to die after admission, and more likely to stay longer or to be re -added unexpectedly after the release.
The report, published in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, examined 14 years of data at the UK in 2008 and 2021, commanded by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, on more than 160,000 children seriously sick aged 15 and under.
Although previous studies have shown that minority ethnic children have an increased admission rate at the Picus, this study is the first to examine the health results of these children and children from more disadvantaged backgrounds, after admission.
More specifically, Asian children were 52% more likely to die after admission to a USIC than their white counterparts. Their mortality rate was 1,336 deaths for 26,022 admissions, against 4,960 deaths for 154,041 admissions for white children, who had the lowest mortality rate overall.
Children living in areas with high levels of children’s poverty had an increased 13% probability of dying while in a USIC compared to children from richer backgrounds, at a rate of 2,432 deaths for 58,110 admissions.
Dr. Hannah Mitchell, the main author of the study of the Department of Surgery and Cancer at the Imperial College of London, said that the reasons for this disparity were complex and could be due to structural factors such as discrimination and linguistic barriers.
Professor Padmanabhan Ramnarayan, the main author of the study, said: “These children can face discrimination, inside and outside health care, which can lead to hesitation to seek help or delays in access to urgent care. Linguistic barriers can further complicate access.
“Children of certain groups of ethnic minorities have a higher prevalence of complex or limited conditions, which makes them more vulnerable. Children living in poverty are more likely to develop serious illnesses such as asthma or traumatic injuries, and may have trouble accessing the care timely due to difficulty getting the help of GPS or A & E. “
He added that additional research to fully understand the reasons for this disparity was necessary.
The study also revealed that children from minority ethnic environments were more likely to have a longer stay in Picus, on average 66 hours compared to their white counterparts who had an average stay of 52 hours.
The minority ethnic children have also proven to have an increased probability of an unexpected readmission to a Pipu within 60 days of the exit, at 9%, compared to their white counterparts who had a readmission rate of 6.8%.
Ramnarayan said: “It should not be the case that the ethnicity or the postal code of a child determines his results in Picu.
“Our results show the urgent need to improve access to urgent care, the reduction of obstacles to healthcare access, previous recognition of serious illnesses in children and greater coordination between hospitals and community care teams to improve USIC results through the United Kingdom.”
