The effect of national public health measures on the characteristics of trauma presentations to a busy paediatric emergency service in Ireland: a longitudinal observational study.
Ir J Med Sci
; 191(2): 589-595, 2022 Apr.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1384595
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and government-enforced restrictions have impacted medical practices.AIMS:
The aim of our study was to investigate the impact SARS-CoV-2 and public health restrictions had on trauma presentations to a regional paediatric emergency service.METHODS:
We carried out a multisite retrospective longitudinal study of all paediatric ED attendances from 2018 including 13 March to 7 June 2020. This aligned with the initial government-enforced public health phases delay phase, mitigation phase and reopening phase 1.RESULTS:
There were 7975 total regional attendances during government-enforced restrictions. This represents 17.5% and 15.6% reductions in site attendances when compared with the two previous years. Regional attendances reduced by 52.5% in 2020 compared with 2018 and 50.9% compared with 2019. Following an initial reduction in injury attendances at the beginning of the 'lockdown' (p = 0.076), the number of injuries consistently grew as weeks progressed (p < 0.05), reaching a peak of 44.6% of all attendances. As restrictions eased, the most common location where injuries occurred moved to areas outside the home (p < 0.000). There was a significant change in injury type, final disposition and device-associated injury (p < 0.05). Wheeled recreational devices were associated with over 20% of all injuries by reopening phase 1.CONCLUSIONS:
This study reveals that total attendances and total injuries reduced during initial phases of the lockdown. This was followed by a significant increase in injury presentations, which reached a peak of 44.6% of all attendances. We identified potential modifiable characteristics of paediatric trauma which can be addressed by future public health strategies.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Public Health
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Ir J Med Sci
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S11845-021-02593-4
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