Obesity screening in the pediatric emergency department – A missed opportunity?

Objectives: There is a low rate of body mass index measurements and obesity screening in primary pediatric care. Pediatric emergency department (PED) visits, with their large volumes and routine weight measurements, provide a unique opportunity to identify and address obesity. The study objectives were to examine the rate of addressing obesity in the PED and to identify its predicting factors. Methods: From electronic medical records of PED visits during 2010–2019, we extracted data on age, gender, weight, time, listed diagnoses, and discharge texts. The primary outcome was a listed diagnosis of “obesity” on discharge letters of children with obesity. Secondary outcomes were addressing weight in the discharge letter and written recommendations for obesity-related treatment. Mixed models were used to test for associations between each of the three outcomes and patient/visit characteristics. Results: There were 150,250 PED visits by 88,253 different children and adolescents. Obesity was found in 10,691 children (12.1%). Among these, listed “obesity” diagnosis was present in only 240 (1.5%) visits. Text addressing overweight/obesity was recorded in 721 (4.4%) visits, and weight-related recommendations were documented in 716 (4.4%) visits. “Obesity” was documented in females more often than in males, in older children, in children with higher weights, and in visits conducted during the mornings. Conclusions: The rate of obesity diagnosis in the PED was extremely low, hence the potential screening ability of the PED in this matter is highly under-utilized. PEDs could increase the recognition of obesity, thus assisting in the global efforts in tackling this disease.