Background: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is putting the European National Health Systems under pressure. Interestingly, Emergency Department (ED) referrals for other reasons than COVID-19 seem to have declined steeply. In the present paper, we aimed to verify how the COVID-19 outbreak changed ED referral pattern.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of patients referred to the ED of a University Hospital in Northern Italy from 1 March to 13 April 2020. We compared the following data with those belonging to the same period in 2019: number of EDs accesses, rate of hospital admission, frequencies of the most common causes of ED referral, priority codes of access.
Results: The number of ED referrals during the COVID-19 outbreak was markedly reduced when compared to the same period in 2019 (3059 vs. 5691; -46.3%). Conversely, the rate of hospital admission raised from 16.9% to 35.4% (P<0.0001), with a shift toward higher priority codes of ED admission. In 2020, we observed both a reduction of the number of patients referred for both traumatic (513, 16.8% vs. 1544, 27.1%; χ=118.7, P<0.0001) and non-traumatic (4147 vs. 2546) conditions. Among the latter, suspected COVID-19 accounted for 1101 (43.2%) accesses.
Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the pattern of ED referral in Italy, with a marked reduction of the accesses to the hospitals. This could be related to a limited exposure to traumas and to a common fear of being infected during EDs in-stay. This may limit the misuse of EDs for non-urgent conditions but may also delay proper referrals for urgent conditions.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.23736/S0031-0808.20.04000-8 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
An Update on Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.
Curr Rheumatol Rep
January 2025
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.
Purpose: To summarize the latest research on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
Recent Findings: The epidemiology of MIS-C has been dynamic since its initial description. The pathogenesis remains poorly understood.
Dysregulation of lung epithelial cell homeostasis and immunity contributes to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease severity.
mSphere
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Coronaviruses (CoV) emerge suddenly from animal reservoirs to cause novel diseases in new hosts. Discovered in 2012, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is endemic in camels in the Middle East and is continually causing local outbreaks and epidemics. While all three newly emerging human CoVs from the past 20 years (SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV) cause respiratory disease, each CoV has unique host interactions that drive differential pathogeneses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA Framework for Assessing Viral Pathogens: A Key Element of the BARDA Emerging Infectious Diseases Strategy.
Health Secur
January 2025
Richard C. White, PhD, is an Interdisciplinary Scientist, Medical Countermeasures Program; Peter L. Adams, PhD, and Karl J. Erlandson, PhD, are Interdisciplinary Scientists, and Ramya Natarajan, PhD, is a Health Scientist, Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases Division; Kyla A. Britson, PhD, Rushyannah Killens-Cade, PhD, and Malen A. Link, PhD, are Interdisciplinary Scientists, and Daniel N. Wolfe, PhD, is Deputy Director, Division of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Countermeasures; Derek L. Eisnor, MD, is a Medical Officer, Division of Clinical Development; Brenda L. Fredericksen, PhD, is Program Director, Nonclinical Research Program, and James Little, MS, is a Senior Scientific Advisor, Division of Nonclinical Development; John S. Lee, PhD, is Program Director, Molecular Diagnostics Program, and Julie M. Villanueva, PhD, is a Scientific Advisor, Detection, Diagnostics, and Devices Infrastructure Division; Kimberly L. Sciarretta, PhD, is Program Director, Launch Office, Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures; and Robert A. Johnson, PhD, is Director, Medical Countermeasures Program; all at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Washington, DC. Gerald R. Kovacs, PhD, is a Senior Advisor; Huyen Cao, MD, is a Senior Clinical Studies Analyst; Christopher Dale, PhD, and Mark Michalik, MBA, are Senior Subject Matter Experts; Mario H. Skiadopoulos, PhD, is a Preclinical Drug Development Subject Matter Expert; and Xiaomi Tong, PhD, is a Senior Regulatory Affairs Subject Matter Expert; all at Tunnell Government Services, Berwyn, PA. Suchismita Chandran, PhD, is a Lead Associate, and Michael Rowe, MS, is a Senior Consultant; both at Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, VA. Ethan J. Fritch, PhD, is an ORISE Fellow, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN. George Robertson, PhD, is Chief Scientific Officer, Cambra Consulting, Inc., Woodbridge, VA.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the need for nations to prepare more effectively for emerging infectious diseases. Preparing for these threats requires a multifaceted approach that includes assessing pathogen threat, building flexible capabilities for rapid medical countermeasure (MCM) development, and exercising, maintaining, and improving those response capabilities. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) promotes the advanced development of MCMs in response to natural and manmade threats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Determination of the post-pandemic self-perceived health level in the adult population of Eastern Andalusia: A cross-sectional study].
Rev Esp Salud Publica
January 2025
Centro de salud Almanjáyar; Distrito Sanitario de Granada. Granada. España.
Objective: The appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus led to the adoption of extreme health measures aimed at containing or minimizing the effects of the pandemic it produced. These measures had a significant impact on people's physical and mental health, causing a drastic decrease in the health-related quality of life by losing one of its fundamental pillars, social health. With this study, we aimed to assess the self-perceived health status after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransgression of planetary boundaries and the effects on child health through an infectious diseases lens.
Curr Opin Pediatr
January 2025
Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute (Sydney ID), University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Purpose Of Review: Life on earth, as we know it, is changing. The likelihood of more frequent pandemics and disease outbreaks is something that current global healthcare infrastructure is ill equipped to navigate. Human activity is forcing our planet into a new geologic epoch, the Anthropocene, which is typified by increased uncertainty resulting from human disruption of earth's life-giving ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!