Soni P, Agrawal A. Pediatric emergency care: Determinants and systematic barriers. World J Clin Pediatr 2025; 14(3): 108140 [DOI: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i3.108140]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Amit Agrawal, Department of Pediatrics, Gandhi Medical College, Hamidia Hospital Campus, 49-B, Indrapuri, B-Sector, Bhopal 462022, India. agrawaldramit@yahoo.co.in
Research Domain of This Article
Emergency Medicine
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Pediatr. Sep 9, 2025; 14(3): 108140 Published online Sep 9, 2025. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i3.108140
Pediatric emergency care: Determinants and systematic barriers
Pankaj Soni, Amit Agrawal
Pankaj Soni, Department of Neonatology, Thumbay University Hospital, Ajman 4184, United Arab Emirates
Pankaj Soni, Department of Clinical Sciences (Pediatric Neonatology), College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman 4184, United Arab Emirates
Amit Agrawal, Department of Pediatrics, Gandhi Medical College, Hamidia Hospital Campus, Bhopal 462022, India
Author contributions: Soni P concept, acquisition, and interpretation of data, drafting the article, and literature review; Agrawal A manuscript review, manuscript editing, revising the article critically for important intellectual content; Soni P will act as guarantor. All the authors approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Amit Agrawal, Department of Pediatrics, Gandhi Medical College, Hamidia Hospital Campus, 49-B, Indrapuri, B-Sector, Bhopal 462022, India. agrawaldramit@yahoo.co.in
Received: April 8, 2025 Revised: April 26, 2025 Accepted: May 26, 2025 Published online: September 9, 2025 Processing time: 71 Days and 19.9 Hours
Abstract
Pediatric emergency care (PEC) encompasses the specialized medical care delivered to infants, children, and adolescents facing urgent medical situations, addressing critical conditions such as infections, allergic responses, seizures, respiratory distress, and trauma. PEC calls for prompt, focused interventions to address each child's developmental and physiological needs. The literature was searched using Google Scholar, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library to retrieve studies assessing quality indicators and outcomes in pediatric emergencies. The search was limited to papers published in peer-reviewed journals between 01 Jan 2000 and 15 Dec 2024. This review evaluates current PEC standards such as patient safety, diagnostic precision, timeliness, and patient and family satisfaction. Patient safety is vital because children are particularly vulnerable to medical errors, such as inappropriate doses of medication. The provision of high-quality PEC is hampered by systemic issues such as inadequate training, a lack of resources, and restricted access to treatment. Telemedicine, pediatric transport units, artificial intelligence applications for diagnostics, and simulation-based training are suggested approaches to overcome these challenges. Research networks and quality improvement initiatives are important steps to improve PEC care.
Core Tip: Pediatric emergency care (PEC) addresses many critical conditions, such as infections, allergic responses, seizures, respiratory distress, and trauma. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library to retrieve the studies assessing quality indicators and outcomes in pediatric emergencies. This article showed the current PEC standards, systemic barriers to providing high-quality care, and quality improvement projects to improve outcomes. Telemedicine, pediatric transport units, and simulation-based training are suggested approaches to overcome these challenges.
