OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiological profile of children and adolescents aged between 0 to 19 years, assisted by the emergency department of a City School Hospital in order to monitor the health care system of São Carlos, São Paulo, Southeast Brazil. METHODS: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study that collected data from medical records, from August 2008 to September 2009 (14 months). The random sample was taken from 15 days of each month, 50% of the total of 26,678 patients seen during that period of time, accounting for 13,339 medical records. The Epi-Info software was used to build the database; results were evaluated by descriptive statistical analysis. RESULTS: Among the analyzed medical reports, 48.3% were female patients, 55% of the patients were aged between 0 and 4 years. Most of the children (95%) came by spontaneous demand. During that period, 41% of the population aged 0 to 19 years-old sought for only this type of health care. The most prevalent diseases were respiratory diseases, which showed 48.5% incidence during fall and winter. Most patients came from the north, northeast, and northwest regions of São Carlos, which have high-population density. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed a sad reality, with high spontaneous demand of children aged from zero to four years-old for pediatric emergency care. Most patients had not received prior care from other doctors. The health network situation indicates the need for urgent measures to strengthen the primary care assistance for basic health care centers and family physicians.
emergency care; health profile; emergency service; child health; Unified Health System
