Use of Swiss paediatric emergency department has grown

EDITOR—Santos-Eggimann suggests that the increasing use of the emergency department in her Swiss hospital is mainly associated with an ageing population and immigration.1 The emergency department she analysed serves mainly adult patients. Her conclusions do not necessarily apply to children.

We recently reported the dramatic rise in the use of 10 state run paediatric casualty departments in the French speaking part of Switzerland, the region where Santos-Eggimann's analysis was performed.2 This increase (median 113% (range 16-264%) during 1990-9) is obviously not …