Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, January 2019-January 2022.

Emergency departments (EDs) in the United States remain a frontline resource for pediatric health care emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, patterns of health-seeking behavior have changed during the pandemic (1,2). CDC examined changes in U.S. ED visit trends to assess the continued impact of the pandemic on visits among children and adolescents aged 0-17 years (pediatric ED visits). Compared with 2019, pediatric ED visits declined by 51% during 2020, 22% during 2021, and 23% during January 2022. Although visits for non-COVID-19 respiratory illnesses mostly declined, the proportion of visits for some respiratory conditions increased during January 2022 compared with 2019. Weekly number and proportion of ED visits increased for certain types of injuries (e.g., drug poisonings, self-harm, and firearm injuries) and some chronic diseases, with variation by pandemic year and age group. Visits related to behavioral concerns increased across pandemic years, particularly among older children and adolescents. Health care providers and families should remain vigilant for potential indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including health conditions resulting from delayed care, and increasing emotional distress and behavioral health concerns among children and adolescents.

Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Associated with Mental Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, January 2019-January 2022.

In 2021, a national emergency* for children's mental health was declared by several pediatric health organizations, and the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory† on mental health among youths. These actions resulted from ongoing concerns about children's mental health in the United States, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (1,2). During March-October 2020, among all emergency department (ED) visits, the proportion of mental health-related visits increased by 24% among U.S. children aged 5-11 years and 31% among adolescents aged 12-17 years, compared with 2019 (2). CDC examined changes in U.S. pediatric ED visits for overall mental health conditions (MHCs) and ED visits associated with specific MHCs (depression; anxiety; disruptive behavioral and impulse-control disorders; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; trauma and stressor-related disorders; bipolar disorders; eating disorders; tic disorders; and obsessive-compulsive disorders [OCD]) during 2019 through January 2022 among children and adolescents aged 0-17 years, overall and by sex and age. After declines in weekly visits associated with MHCs among those aged 0-17 years during 2020, weekly numbers of ED visits for MHCs overall and for specific MHCs varied by age and sex during 2021 and January 2022, when compared with corresponding weeks in 2019. Among adolescent females aged 12-17 years, weekly visits increased for two of nine MHCs during 2020 (eating disorders and tic disorders), for four of nine MHCs during 2021 (depression, eating disorders, tic disorders, and OCD), and for five of nine MHCs during January 2022 (anxiety, trauma and stressor-related disorders, eating disorders, tic disorders, and OCD), and overall MHC visits during January 2022, compared with 2019. Early identification and expanded evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies are critical to improving children's and adolescents' mental health (1-3), especially among adolescent females, who might have increased need.