Table 1 Characteristics of participating hospitals by geographical area
| Â | North | Centre | South | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) |
Type of hospital: | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  General | 3 (27.3) | 2 (40.0) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (26.3) |
  Pediatric/maternal and child | 8 (72.7) | 3 (60.0) | 3 (100.0) | 14 (73.7) |
Academic hospital: | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  No | 3 (27.3) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (66.7) | 5 (26.3) |
  Yes | 8 (72.7) | 5 (100.0) | 1 (33.3) | 14 (73.7) |
Clinical Research Hospital (IRCCS): | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  No | 8 (72.7) | 4 (80.0) | 3 (100.0) | 15 (78.9) |
  Yes | 3 (27.3) | 1 (20.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (21.0) |
Type of pediatric emergency department: | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  Medical only | 1 (9.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (33.3) | 2 (10.5) |
  Medico-surgical or medico- traumatological | 2 (18.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (10.5) |
  Medico-surgical-traumatological (MST) | 8 (72.7) | 5 (100.0) | 2 (66.7) | 15 (78.9) |
Short Stay Observation (SSO): | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  No | 1 (9.1) | 2 (40.0) | 1 (33.3) | 4 (21.0) |
  Yes | 10 (90.9) | 3 (60.0) | 2 (66.7) | 15 (78.9) |
Triage carried out: | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  <24 h/day | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (66.7) | 2 (10.5) |
  24 h/day | 11 (100.0) | 5 (100.0) | 1 (33.3) | 17 (89.5) |
Triage method: | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  First look only | 1 (9.1) | 1 (20.0) | 1 (33.3) | 3 (15.8) |
  Full assessment | 10 (90.9) | 4 (80.0) | 2 (66.7) | 16 (84.2) |
Number of annual pediatric admissions (x 1000): | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  Mean (sd) | 26.7 (10.9) | 33.3 (15.9) | 58.4 (43.6) | 33.4 (21.6) |
Physicians to admissions ratio (PR) (x 10000): | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  Mean (sd) | 3.7 (1.9) | 3.5 (1.6) | 2.7 (1.4) | 3.5 (1.7) |
Nurses to admissions ratio (NR) (x 10000): | Â | Â | Â | Â |
  Mean (sd) | 6.0 (1.9) | 7.2 (1.2) | 4 (0.3) | 6 (1.8) |