Effect of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Pediatric Patients' Admissions to the Emergency Department in an Italian Orthopedic Trauma Hub.
Children (Basel)
; 8(8)2021 Jul 27.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1335015
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The rapid diffusion of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Northern Italy led the Italian government to dictate a national lockdown from 12 March 2020 to 5 May 2020. The aim of this observational cohort study is to analyze the differences in the number of pediatric patients' admission to the Emergency Room (ER) and in the type and causes of injury.METHODS:
The pediatric population during the pandemic was compared to a similar group of patients admitted to the ER in 2019. Sex, age, triage color-code at admission, cause of trauma and presence of symptoms related to COVID-19 infection, discharge diagnosis and discharge modes were investigated.RESULTS:
The lockdown period led to a reduction of 87.0% in ER admissions with a particular decrease in patients older than 12 years old. Moreover, a trend towards more severe codes and an increase in home-related injuries were observed during the pandemic, whereas the diagnosis of fracture was less frequent in the pre-pandemic group (p < 0.0001).CONCLUSIONS:
A significant decrease in the ER attendances was reported during the lockdown. A shift in the cause and type of injury was observed; only the most serious traumas sought medical care with a higher percentage of severe triage codes and fractures.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Children8080645
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