A Descriptive Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department Attendance and Visit Characteristics in Singapore
COVID
; 1(4):739-750, 2021.
Article
in English
| MDPI | ID: covidwho-1554897
Preprint
This scientific journal article is probably based on a previously available preprint. It has been identified through a machine matching algorithm, human confirmation is still pending.
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This scientific journal article is probably based on a previously available preprint. It has been identified through a machine matching algorithm, human confirmation is still pending.
See preprint
ABSTRACT
Background:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the utilisation of Emergency Department (ED) services worldwide. This study aims to describe the changes in attendance at a single ED and corresponding patient visit characteristics before and during the COVID-19 period.Methods:
In a single-centre retrospective cohort study, we used descriptive statistics to compare ED attendance, patient demographics and visit characteristics during the COVID-19 period (1 January–28 June 2020) and its corresponding historical period in 2019 (2 January–30 June 2019).Results:
The mean ED attendance decreased from 342 visits/day in the pre-COVID-19 period to 297 visits/day in the COVID-19 period. This was accompanied by a decline in presentations in nearly every ICD-10-CM diagnosis category except for respiratory-related diseases. Notably, we observed reductions in visits by critically ill patients and severe disease presentations during the COVID-19 period. We also noted a shift in the ED patient case-mix from 'Non-fever’cases to 'Fever’cases, likely giving rise to two distinct trough-to-peak visit patterns during the pre-Circuit Breaker and Circuit Breaker period.Conclusions:
This descriptive study revealed distinct ED visit trends across different time periods. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction in ED attendances amongst patients with low-acuity conditions and those with highest priority for emergency care. This raises concern about treatment-seeking delays and the possible impact on health outcomes. The downward trend in low-acuity presentations also presents learning opportunities for ED crowd management planning in a post-COVID-19 era.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
MDPI
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Language:
English
Journal:
COVID
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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