Publications by authors named "Ruth Farrugia"
Objective: To investigate a dose-response relationship between the magnitude of decrease in pediatric respiratory tract infections (RTI) during the 2020 implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) and the rise thereafter during NPI lifting.
Study Design: We conducted an interrupted, time-series analysis, based on a multinational surveillance system. All patients <16 years of age coming to medical attention with various symptoms and signs of RTI at 25 pediatric emergency departments from 13 European countries between January 2018 and June 2022 were included.
Objective: The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is widely used to objectively describe the extent of patients' impaired consciousness. However, there are known variations in scoring GCS both in adults and children which may impact patient management. The aim of this audit was to assess the application of GCS by medical and nursing staff in pediatric medical patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bronchiolitis is a major source of morbimortality among young children worldwide. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to reduce the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 may have had an important impact on bronchiolitis outbreaks, as well as major societal consequences. Discriminating between their respective impacts would help define optimal public health strategies against bronchiolitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The objective of the study was to evaluate how epidemics and pandemics affect the use of pediatric emergency care services to inform health policy.
- A systematic review of 131 articles was conducted, finding that most studies (80%) focused on COVID-19, which resulted in a significant 63.86% reduction in pediatric emergency department visits, although other epidemics showed varied effects.
- The findings suggest that public fear of disease significantly influences how people seek emergency care, and policymakers need to consider this anxiety while also recognizing gaps in reported data on the impact of epidemics on pediatric care usage.
Background: During the initial phase of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, reduced numbers of acutely ill or injured children presented to emergency departments (EDs). Concerns were raised about the potential for delayed and more severe presentations and an increase in diagnoses such as diabetic ketoacidosis and mental health issues. This multinational observational study aimed to study the number of children presenting to EDs across Europe during the early COVID-19 pandemic and factors influencing this and to investigate changes in severity of illness and diagnoses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Understanding how paediatric emergency departments (PEDs) across Europe adapted their healthcare pathways in response to COVID-19 will help guide responses to ongoing waves of COVID-19 and potential future pandemics. This study aimed to evaluate service reconfiguration across European PEDs during the initial COVID-19 wave.
Design: This cross-sectional survey included 39 PEDs in 17 countries.
Study Objective: We aim to describe the variability and identify gaps in preparedness and response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in European emergency departments (EDs) caring for children.
Methods: A cross-sectional point-prevalence survey was developed and disseminated through the pediatric emergency medicine research networks for Europe (Research in European Pediatric Emergency Medicine) and the United Kingdom and Ireland (Paediatric Emergency Research in the United Kingdom and Ireland). We aimed to include 10 EDs for countries with greater than 20 million inhabitants and 5 EDs for less populated countries, unless the number of eligible EDs was less than 5.