Background
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the provision of health services in all specialties. We aim to study the impact of COVID-19 on the utilization of pediatric hospital services including emergency department (ED) attendances, hospitalizations, diagnostic categories and resource utilization in Singapore.
Methods
We performed a retrospective review of ED attendances and hospital admissions among children < 18 years old from January 1st to August 8th 2020 in a major pediatric hospital in Singapore. Data were analyzed in the following time periods: Pre-lockdown (divided by the change in Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level), during-lockdown and post-lockdown. We presented the data using proportions and percentage change in mean counts per day with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results
We attended to 58,367 children with a mean age of 5.1 years (standard deviation, SD 4.6). The mean ED attendance decreased by 331 children/day during lockdown compared to baseline (p < 0.001), attributed largely to a drop in respiratory (% change − 87.9, 95% CI − 89.3 to − 86.3, p < 0.001) and gastrointestinal infections (% change − 72.4, 95%CI − 75.9 to − 68.4, p < 0.001). Trauma-related diagnoses decreased at a slower rate across the same periods (% change − 40.0, 95%CI − 44.3 to − 35.3, p < 0.001). We saw 226 children with child abuse, with a greater proportion of total attendance seen post-lockdown (79, 0.6%) compared to baseline (36, 0.2%) (p < 0.001). In terms of ED resource utilization, there was a decrease in the overall mean number of procedures performed per day during the lockdown compared to baseline, driven largely by a reduction in blood investigations (% change − 73.9, 95%CI − 75.9 to − 71.7, p < 0.001).
Conclusions
We highlighted a significant decrease in infection-related presentations likely attributed to the lockdown and showed that the relative proportion of trauma-related attendances increased. By describing the impact of COVID-19 on health services, we report important trends that may provide guidance when planning resources for future pandemics.
Most children who present with hypertensive crisis have a secondary cause for hypertension. This study describes the epidemiology and management of children with hypertensive crisis. A retrospective cohort study was done in a tertiary pediatric hospital from 2009 to 2015. Thirty-seven patients were treated for hypertensive crisis. Twelve (32.4%) patients were treated for hypertensive emergency. The majority of our patients (33 [89.1%]) had a secondary cause of hypertension. The most common identifiable cause of hypertension was a renal pathology (18/37 [48.6%]). Oral nifedipine (23 [62.1%]) was the most frequently used antihypertensive, followed by intravenous labetalol (8 [21.6%]). There were no mortalities or morbidities. Hypertensive crisis in children is likely secondary in nature. Oral nifedipine and intravenous labetalol are both effective treatments.
Children undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI). Preventing cardiac surgery-associated AKI (CS-AKI) is important as it is associated with increased early- and long-term mortality and morbidity. Targeting modifiable risk factors (eg, avoiding poor renal perfusion, nephrotoxic drugs, and fluid overload) reduces the risk of CS-AKI. There is currently no strong evidence for the routine use of pharmacological approaches (eg, aminophylline, dexmedetomidine, fenoldopam, and steroids) to prevent CS-AKI. There is robust evidence to support the role of early peritoneal dialysis as a nonpharmacologic approach to prevent CS-AKI.
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