(1) Background: During a pandemic, patients and processes in the emergency department (ED) change. These circumstances affect the length of stay (LOS) or degree of crowding in the ED. The processes for patients with acute critical illness, such as cerebrovascular disease (CVD), can be also delayed. Using the process mining (PM) method, this study aimed to evaluate LOS, ED processes for CVD, and delayed processes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the Clinical Data Warehouse of a medical center. Phase 1 included patients who visited the ED before the COVID-19 outbreak. In Phase 2, post-COVID-19 ED patients were divided into the COVID-19 tested group (CTG) and COVID-19 not tested group (CNTG) according to whether polymerase chain reaction test was performed. We analyzed patients’ ED processes before and after COVID-19 using the PM method. We analyzed patients with acute CVD separately to determine whether the process and LOS of patients with acute critical illness were changed or delayed. (3) Results: After the COVID-19 outbreak, the overall LOS was delayed and all processes in CTG patients were delayed. Registration to triage and triage were delayed in both CTG and CNTG patients. The brain imaging process for CTG patients with acute CVD was also delayed. (4) Conclusion: After a pandemic, some processes were changed, new processes were developed, and processes for patients with acute CVD who needed proper time management were not exempted.
Objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has notably altered the emergency department isolation protocol, imposing stricter requirements on probable infectious disease patients that enter the department. This has caused adverse effects, such as an increased rate of leave without being seen (LWBS). This study describes the effect of fever/respiratory symptoms as the main cause of isolation regarding LWBS after the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods We retrospectively analyzed emergency department visits before (March to July 2019) and after (March to July 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients were grouped based on existing fever or respiratory symptoms, with the LWBS rate as the primary outcome. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors of LWBS. Logistic regression was performed using interaction terminology (fever/respiratory symptom patient [FRP] × post–COVID-19) to determine the interaction between patients with FRPs and the COVID-19 pandemic period.Results A total of 60,290 patients were included (34,492 in the pre–COVID-19, and 25,298 in the post–COVID-19 group). The proportion of FRPs decreased significantly after the pandemic (P < 0.001), while the LWBS rate in FRPs significantly increased from 2.8% to 19.2% (P < 0.001). Both FRPs (odds ratio, 1.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.59–1.84 (P < 0.001) and the COVID-19 period (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% confidence interval, 2.15–2.44; P < 0.001) were significantly associated with increased LWBS. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between the incidence of LWBS in FRPs and the COVID-19 pandemic period (P < 0.001).Conclusion The LWBS rate has increased in FRPs after the COVID-19 pandemic; additionally, the effect observed was disproportionate compared with that of nonfever/respiratory symptom patients.
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