Namık Kemal Tıp Dergisi (Dec 2022)

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Emergency Admissions: Comparison with the Previous Year

  • Metin UYSALOL,
  • Raif YILDIZ,
  • Süheyla GÜMÜŞ

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4274/nkmj.galenos.2022.49369
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 4
pp. 369 – 376

Abstract

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Aim:After lockdown decisions taken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) epidemic all over the world, admissions to emergency department (ED) were interrupted in many hospitals. This study aims to evaluate the change by comparing the number of patients admitted to pediatric ED in the same period of previous year, distribution characteristics of diseases, and rates of hospitalization with the period at the onset of pandemic.Materials and Methods:This was a retrospective, observational study. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 4943 patients aged 0-18 years, who were admitted to Pediatric ED between March 10, 2020 and April 10, 2020 and in the same period of previous year, were included in our study. It was conducted by taking medical data such as demographic characteristics, emergency status, history of comorbid disease, diagnosis, and hospitalization status.Results:By years, 80.7% (n=3989) of the admissions were made in 2019 and 19.3% (n=954) in 2020. There was a significant decrease of 76% in emergency admissions during COVID-19 pandemic compared to same period last year. The rate of comorbid disease in those who were admitted to the pediatric ED was 23.7% in 2019 and was 27.9% in 2020 (p=0.007). The rate of patients evaluated as priority emergencies was 10.6% in 2019 and 17.9% in 2020 (p<0.001). Neurology, endocrinology, hematology-oncology and neonatal group pathologies and home accidents were found to be statistically significantly higher in 2020 (p=0.037, p=0.002, p<0.001, p=0.040, p<0.001). When the rates of asthma attack, foreign body intake and severe anemia were evaluated by years, they were found to be significantly higher in 2020 (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.022).Conclusion:As in the COVID-19 outbreak, the decrease in admissions to ED may lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment, and increased morbidity and mortality in common pediatric emergencies. Despite the decrease in the number of patients admitted to pediatric ED, it should be kept in mind that admissions may be due to critical illnesses.

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