TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19
T2 - A Comprehensive Analysis of the Pandemic's Effect on an Emergency Department
AU - Flamm, Avram
AU - Lee, Alexander
AU - Mencl, Francis
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
PY - 2022/12/8
Y1 - 2022/12/8
N2 - Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) is a historic pandemic severely impacting health care. This study examines its early effect on a busy academic emergency department. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients from an academic tertiary care Level I trauma, cardiac and stroke center's emergency department seeing an average of 54,000 adults and 21,000 pediatric patients per year. Total visits, reasons for patient visits, demographics, disposition, and length of stay were analyzed from January through July 2020 and compared with the same time period in the previous 2 y. Results: From March through July 2020 there were statistically significant decreases in the total number of patient visits (-47%) especially among pediatric (-73%) and elderly (-43%) patients and those with cardiovascular (-39%), neurological (-63%) complaints, headaches (-60%), back pain (-64%), abdominal pain (-51%), and minor trauma (-71%). There was, however, a significant increase in pulmonary complaints (+54%), as well as admissions (+32%), and length of stay (+40%). Conclusions: There was a significant drop in overall patients and select groups early in the pandemic, while admissions and emergency department length of stay both increased. This has implications for future pandemic planning.
AB - Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) is a historic pandemic severely impacting health care. This study examines its early effect on a busy academic emergency department. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients from an academic tertiary care Level I trauma, cardiac and stroke center's emergency department seeing an average of 54,000 adults and 21,000 pediatric patients per year. Total visits, reasons for patient visits, demographics, disposition, and length of stay were analyzed from January through July 2020 and compared with the same time period in the previous 2 y. Results: From March through July 2020 there were statistically significant decreases in the total number of patient visits (-47%) especially among pediatric (-73%) and elderly (-43%) patients and those with cardiovascular (-39%), neurological (-63%) complaints, headaches (-60%), back pain (-64%), abdominal pain (-51%), and minor trauma (-71%). There was, however, a significant increase in pulmonary complaints (+54%), as well as admissions (+32%), and length of stay (+40%). Conclusions: There was a significant drop in overall patients and select groups early in the pandemic, while admissions and emergency department length of stay both increased. This has implications for future pandemic planning.
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U2 - 10.1017/dmp.2021.182
DO - 10.1017/dmp.2021.182
M3 - Article
C2 - 34099096
AN - SCOPUS:85107965290
SN - 1935-7893
VL - 16
SP - 2367
EP - 2370
JO - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
JF - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
IS - 6
ER -