AAP Pediatric Ward Admission Criteria: Guidelines & Recommendations

The AAP recommends the following criteria for admitting patients to pediatric wards:

- Medical instability requiring frequent monitoring or intervention

- Acute illness causing significant impairment of function or requiring specific therapy

- Need for diagnostic evaluation that cannot be performed on an outpatient basis or that requires close observation

- Need for ongoing care or monitoring postoperatively or after a procedure performed in an outpatient setting

- Psycho-social issues that can not be appropriately managed at home with outpatient support services including:

- High risk for self-harm or harm to others

- Inability to care for basic needs/meet developmental needs without intensive intervention or 1:1 supervision at home without access to additional, immediate services