Analysis of COVID-19 pandemic impact on the presenting complaints of the emergency department visits

Abstract

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on economic and medical systems is significant, especially in the emergency department (ED). The patterns of ED visits have also changed significantly and may play a crucial role in rearranging medical resources to the most needed departments during the pandemic. This was a retrospective study conducted in hospitals of the Cathay Health System. All patients presented to the EDs between January 21, 2020 to April 30, 2020 (pandemic stage) and January 21, 2019 to April 30, 2019 (before the pandemic stage). Basic demographics, including visit characteristics, disposition, and chief complaints, of the patients visiting the ED between these 2 periods of time will be compared and analyzed. A total of 71,739 patients were included in the study. A reduction in ED visits was noted in 15.1% (32,950 ED visits) during the pandemic stage. ED visiting patients with the chief complaints of upper respiratory infection and social problems increased by 14.23% and 1.86%, respectively, during the pandemic period. Critical chief complaints such as cardiac arrest, chest pain and altered mental status decreased to less than the ED visits difference (−15.1%) between the pandemic and prepandemic stages, for 0%, −7.67%, and −13.8% respectively. Rearrangement of the ED pediatric staff to the COVID-19 special units and recruiting more social workers to the ED should be performed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Emergency Department Visits in Taiwan

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated a significant decrease in ED visits across almost all age groups during the early phase of the pandemic [4,5,10,11]. However, contrary to the increased proportion of adults visiting the ED, from 60.5% (pre-pandemic) to 65.2% (pandemic) [11], our research revealed a decreased proportion and number of pediatric ED visits across all Cathay Health System hospitals during the pandemic season. Several factors, such as school closures, social distancing policies, and media influence, could have contributed to the decline in total pediatric ED visits [7,8].…”

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department length of stay and clinical outcomes of patients with severe pneumonia: A single-center observational study

“…Our ED patient volume during the COVID-19 pandemic decreased from 52,369 to 35,561, in line with previous studies. [18,[21][22][23][24] However, during the same period, the number of patients hospitalized to the general ward for pneumonia through the ED increased from 248 to 306, and the number of patients admitted to the ICU increased from 73 to 154. We attributed this change to the avoidance of patients with fever, respiratory symptoms, or dyspnea in small and medium-sized hospitals, where securing IRs is difficult, and to the concentration of these patients in tertiary hospitals.…”

Factors Affecting Self-Harm- or Violence-Related Urgent Psychiatric Consultation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan

“…A retrospective study conducted in Northern Taiwan revealed a 15.1% reduction in the total ED visits during the pandemic in 2020. 2 Our previous studies also revealed that nonemergency diagnoses (eg, congestive heart failure and constipation) were more affected by the pandemic than emergency diagnoses (eg, myocardial infarction and gastrointestinal bleeding). 3,4 Although the reasons for this may be complex, the fear of being infected is a possible explanation.…”