Differences in emergency hospitalization trauma patients during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The spread of COVID-19 has a huge impact on the medical system, affecting the normal order of routine patients, especially obvious effect on the Shenzhen Third People's Hospital as the designated hospital for COVID-19 patients. After the epidemic was loosened in early December 2022, the normal medical order gradually restored in China. How much was the impact on the admission and treatment of emergency trauma patients during and after the epidemic? This study aims to compare the differences between trauma patients admitted to the emergency department during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods And Findings: The study included all trauma patients admitted through the emergency department from January 2020 to March 2024. Clinical data were collected, and a retrospective comparative analysis was performed on the characteristics of the two groups of trauma patients during and after the pandemic, including gender, age, average length of hospital stay, proportions of admissions to various departments, proportions of severe cases, proportions of surgical patients, and mortality rates, using statistical methods for analysis. The proportion of male patients during the pandemic (69.98%) was higher than after the pandemic (67.01%). The proportion of patients under 60 years of age during the pandemic was higher than that after the pandemic. There was no significant difference in the average hospital stay between patients during and after the pandemic (P>0.05). Comparisons between the two groups in terms of admissions to departments such as otolaryngology, hepatobiliary surgery, hepatic surgery, orthopedics, urology, neurosurgery, gastroenterology surgery, thoracic surgery, ophthalmology and intensive care unit showed no significant differences (P>0.05). The proportion of surgical patients during the pandemic (75.09%) was higher than after the pandemic (69.53%). The mortality rate during the pandemic (0.13%) was lower than after the pandemic (2.45%).

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted trauma patients admitted through the emergency department, with increases in the proportion of male and younger patients, surgical cases, and a decrease in mortality rates during the pandemic.