Indagine sulla migrazione sud-nord del bambino malato.

Objective of the multicentric study was to analyze the motivations and the clinical problems related to the intensive migration of sick children from the regions of souther Italy towards pediatric hospitals in the northern regions. From june to december 1982 all children admitted to 10 main pediatric centers of the norther region, coming directly from the souther regions, were contacted and precoded form filled with parents and the attending physician. Official statistics from the northern regions suggest that at least 25,000 sick children, coming from the South, are admitted every years to the northern region pediatric wards. The highest migration is actually from Calabria and Sicily. The vast majority (51%) of them are not referred by hospitals of physicians, and come, with no documents, spontaneously. About half of them refer that they lost confidence with pediatric care in the South, had negative experience, though that in their region there were no well equipped center for their problem. The last was referred also for minor ailmets, which may have not required an hospital admission. 63% of the cases went North because of previous arrengements for follow up in definite centers, at dismission from the northern hospital 78% received a program to come back there for follow up. The diagnosis was already known before admission to North in 65% of cases, also in cases of uncommon diseases. Among the clinical problems mental retardation and convulsions had the highest prevalence, followed by neoplasms, leukemia and kidney pathology. About 40% of them were found affected by minor ailments.