ABSTRACT
Objective: Planning for emergency department (ED) services based on epidemiological data is essential. This study retrospectively examined ED patient presentations at a tertiary hospital 1 year before and 1 year after the start of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-2019) pandemic to assist with planning efforts. Material(s) and Method(s): The study period was March 1, 2019 to February 28, 2021. The patient cases were separated into 2 groups using a reference date of March 2020. The period between March 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020 was defined as the pre-COVID period, or ordinary circumstances, and the period between March 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021 was defined as the period following the COVID-19 outbreak, which reflected extraordinary conditions. The primary outcome was the difference in the number of patients and the mortality rate between groups. Result(s): A total of 74,063 (62%) people presented at the ED in the pre-COVID period, and there were 45,397 (38%) ED visits in the post-COVID period. The median daily number of patients seen in the pre-COVID period was significantly higher than that of the post-COVID period (200.5 [181-219.25] vs. 123 [108.5-139], respectively [p<0.001]). The in-hospital mortality rate and the hospitalization rate in the post-COVID period were significantly higher than in the pre-COVID period (in-hospital mortality rate: 1105 [2.4%], 852 [1.2%], [p<0.001];hospitalization rate: 9404 [20.7%], 9019 [12.2%], [p<0.001]). Conclusion(s): Although the number of patients presenting at the ED decreased in the period after the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of those who died increased. While the number of hospitalized patients was similar between the 2 groups, the hospitalization rate was greater in the post-COVID period. This information and additional detailed study may prove useful to ED planning efforts. Copyright © 2022 by Erciyes.
ABSTRACT
Background: We investigated the parameters of National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) + lactate + D-dimer in predicting the intensive care unit (ICU) admission and in-hospital mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: Patients, who applied to the emergency department of a tertiary university hospital and were taken to the COVID-19 zone with suspected COVID-19 between March 2020 and June 2020, were retrospectively examined. In this study, 244 patients, who were hospitalized and had positive polymerase chain reaction test results, were included. NEWS2, lactate, and D-dimer levels of the patients were recorded. Patients were grouped by the states of in-hospital mortality and ICU admission. Results: Of 244 patients who were included in the study, 122 (50%) were male, while their mean age was 53.76 +/- 17.36 years. 28 (11.5%) patients were admitted to the ICU, while in-hospital mortality was seen in 14 (5.7%) patients. The levels of D-dimer, NEWS2, NEWS2 + lactate, NEWS2 + D-dimer, NEWS2 + lactate + D-dimer were statistically signifi cantly higher in patients with in-hospital mortality and admitted to ICU (p < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) values of D-dimer, lactate, NEWS2, NEWS2 + lactate, NEWS2 + D-dimer, NEWS2 + lactate + D-dimer in predicting ICU admission were as 0.745 (0.658-0.832), 0.589 (0.469-0.710), 0.760 (0.675-0.845), 0.774 (0.690-0.859), 0.776 (0.692-0.860), and 0.778 (0.694-0.862), respectively;while the AUC values of these parameters in predicting in-hospital mortality were found to be as 0.768 (0.671-0.865), 0.695 (0.563-0.827), 0.735 (0.634-0.836), 0.757 (0.647-0.867), 0.752 (0.656-0.848), and 0.764 (0.655-0.873), respectively. Conclusions: Compared to using the NEWS2 value alone, a combination of NEWS2, lactate, and D-dimer was found to be more valuable in predicting in-hospital mortality and ICU admission.