COVID-19 pandemic related improvement in hospital utilization and outcomes for children on home mechanical ventilation

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare systems worldwide. In addition to the direct impact of the virus on patient morbidity and mortality, the effect of lockdown strategies on health and healthcare utilization have become apparent. The effect of the pandemic on children on home mechanical ventilation is unknown. We examined the impact of the pandemic on pediatric healthcare utilization in children on home mechanical ventilation. Methods: Between March 11 and December 1, 2020, we conducted a single center, retrospective analysis of 81 children, younger than 18 years old, on home mechanical ventilation who are followed at the UT Physicians High Risk Children's Clinic. Using the same cohort of patients, we compared healthcare utilization during the pandemic in 2020 to the same period in 2019. Results: We observed a massive decline in pediatric healthcare utilization during the pandemic year compared with the previous year. Emergency department total visits decreased by 70% (33 vs 10) (p<0.01). Total number of hospital admissions declined by 38% (52 vs 32) (p=0.03). The mean length of stay (LOS) in hospital admission was 6.7 days in 2019 and 5.3 days in 2020 (p=0.3). Similarly, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions reduced by 57% (30 vs 13) (P=0.04), and the mean PICU LOS was 7.5 days in 2019 and 6.0 days in 2020 (p=0.5). Mortality did not change during 2020 period (1 vs 0). Conclusions: Our data illustrate a significant improvement in pediatric hospital utilization and outcomes for children on home mechanical ventilation during the COVID-19 pandemic. We speculate that fewer medical office visits, increase in telehealth follow ups, school closures, social distancing, massive mask utilization, and increased hand washing during the pandemic year were protective factors that contributed to a lower hospitalization rate. However, we cannot fully exclude the possibilities of natural history of disease fluctuation, or regression to the mean phenomenon. More studies are needed to confirm the etiology of these findings.