tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Am J Emerg Med
. 2020 Aug 9;S0735-6757(20)30681-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2020.07.086. Online ahead of print.
The influence of coronavirus disease 2019 on emergency department visits in Nanjing, China: A multicentre cross-sectional study
Hao Sun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Keqin Liu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Meng Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shaowen Tang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Andrew A Monte[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jun Wang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Shinan Nie[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Qinglin Rui[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Wenge Liu[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Haidong Qin[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Xiao Tan[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Haibin Ni[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Wenxin Yang[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Congjian Zhu[SUP] 13 [/SUP], Runhua Yang[SUP] 14 [/SUP], Tianhao Yu[SUP] 15 [/SUP], Shengwei Wang[SUP] 16 [/SUP], Hao Jiang[SUP] 17 [/SUP], Xiaofeng Chen[SUP] 18 [/SUP], Wei Zhang[SUP] 19 [/SUP], Yi Zhu[SUP] 20 [/SUP], Huatou Zhao[SUP] 21 [/SUP], Shiyu Yang[SUP] 22 [/SUP], Kejin Yin[SUP] 23 [/SUP], Danbing Shao[SUP] 24 [/SUP], Liang Xiao[SUP] 25 [/SUP], Zhengwei Chen[SUP] 26 [/SUP], Weizhong Yuan[SUP] 27 [/SUP], Dongdong Hu[SUP] 28 [/SUP], Xiaoyong Wan[SUP] 29 [/SUP], Lanfu Wu[SUP] 30 [/SUP], Jinsong Zhang[SUP] 31 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Introduction: Influenza has been linked to the crowding in emergency departments (ED) across the world. The impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on China EDs has been quite different from those during past influenza outbreaks. Our objective was to determine if COVID-19 changed ED visit disease severity during the pandemic.
Methods: This was a retrospective cross sectional study conducted in Nanjing, China. We captured ED visit data from 28 hospitals. We then compared visit numbers from October 2019 to February 2020 for a month-to-month analysis and every February from 2017 to 2020 for a year-to-year analysis. Inter-group chi-square test and time series trend tests were performed to compare visit numbers. The primary outcome was the proportion of severe disease visits in the EDs.
Results: Through February 29 [SUP]th[/SUP] 2020, there were 93 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients in Nanjing, of which 40 cases (43.01%) were first seen in the ED. The total number of ED visits in Nanjing in February 2020, were dramatically decreased (n = 99,949) in compared to January 2020 (n = 313,125) and February 2019 (n = 262,503). Except for poisoning, the severe diseases in EDs all decreased in absolute number, but increased in proportion both in year-to-year and month-to-month analyses. This increase in proportional ED disease severity was greater in higher-level referral hospitals when compared year by year.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 outbreak has been associated with decreases in ED visits in Nanjing, China, but increases in the proportion of severe ED visits.
Keywords: Coronavirus; Covid-19; ED visit volume; Emergency medicine; Pandemic.
. 2020 Aug 9;S0735-6757(20)30681-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2020.07.086. Online ahead of print.
The influence of coronavirus disease 2019 on emergency department visits in Nanjing, China: A multicentre cross-sectional study
Hao Sun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Keqin Liu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Meng Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shaowen Tang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Andrew A Monte[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jun Wang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Shinan Nie[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Qinglin Rui[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Wenge Liu[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Haidong Qin[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Xiao Tan[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Haibin Ni[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Wenxin Yang[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Congjian Zhu[SUP] 13 [/SUP], Runhua Yang[SUP] 14 [/SUP], Tianhao Yu[SUP] 15 [/SUP], Shengwei Wang[SUP] 16 [/SUP], Hao Jiang[SUP] 17 [/SUP], Xiaofeng Chen[SUP] 18 [/SUP], Wei Zhang[SUP] 19 [/SUP], Yi Zhu[SUP] 20 [/SUP], Huatou Zhao[SUP] 21 [/SUP], Shiyu Yang[SUP] 22 [/SUP], Kejin Yin[SUP] 23 [/SUP], Danbing Shao[SUP] 24 [/SUP], Liang Xiao[SUP] 25 [/SUP], Zhengwei Chen[SUP] 26 [/SUP], Weizhong Yuan[SUP] 27 [/SUP], Dongdong Hu[SUP] 28 [/SUP], Xiaoyong Wan[SUP] 29 [/SUP], Lanfu Wu[SUP] 30 [/SUP], Jinsong Zhang[SUP] 31 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33184025
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2020.07.086
Abstract
Introduction: Influenza has been linked to the crowding in emergency departments (ED) across the world. The impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on China EDs has been quite different from those during past influenza outbreaks. Our objective was to determine if COVID-19 changed ED visit disease severity during the pandemic.
Methods: This was a retrospective cross sectional study conducted in Nanjing, China. We captured ED visit data from 28 hospitals. We then compared visit numbers from October 2019 to February 2020 for a month-to-month analysis and every February from 2017 to 2020 for a year-to-year analysis. Inter-group chi-square test and time series trend tests were performed to compare visit numbers. The primary outcome was the proportion of severe disease visits in the EDs.
Results: Through February 29 [SUP]th[/SUP] 2020, there were 93 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients in Nanjing, of which 40 cases (43.01%) were first seen in the ED. The total number of ED visits in Nanjing in February 2020, were dramatically decreased (n = 99,949) in compared to January 2020 (n = 313,125) and February 2019 (n = 262,503). Except for poisoning, the severe diseases in EDs all decreased in absolute number, but increased in proportion both in year-to-year and month-to-month analyses. This increase in proportional ED disease severity was greater in higher-level referral hospitals when compared year by year.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 outbreak has been associated with decreases in ED visits in Nanjing, China, but increases in the proportion of severe ED visits.
Keywords: Coronavirus; Covid-19; ED visit volume; Emergency medicine; Pandemic.