Emergency medical services amid new wave of coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in khon kaen, thailand

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks occurring in many countries around the world have had a significant impact on emergency medical services (EMSs) in terms of the number of operations and procedures performed, including those on ambulances. However, the number of EMS amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Khon Kaen, Thailand, has not been well studied. AIM: The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the relationship between the use of EMS and the outbreak of COVID-19. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done in Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand, with a single EMS centered. Data were collected between March 27, 2021, and April 9, 2021, and designated as day-7 to day 7 of pandemic services as well as normal services which collected data between March 27, 2019, and April 9, 2019 (day-7 to day 7 of normal services). RESULTS: Three hundred and eight EMS operations were examined. A total of 77.9% (n = 95) of pandemic services were for males and the mean age of the patients was 32.1 ± 5.4 years. During the normal services in 2019, the average number of EMS operations was 13.3 ± 2.4 times/day over the 2 weeks of the study. In 2021, before the outbreak (day-7 to day 1), the average number of EMS operations was 13.2 ± 1.8 times/day. After day 1, there was a drop in the number of EMS operations which was associated with an increase in COVID-19 infections (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The number of EMS users during the COVID-19 outbreak decreased considerably compared to the pre-epidemic levels and normal service intervals, including the severity of the users, was more severe than normal.