Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare service use for non-COVID-19 patients in Japan: retrospective cohort study.
BMJ Open
; 12(4): e060390, 2022 04 24.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1807418
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
We aimed to investigate the impact of the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare service use by non-COVID-19 patients.DESIGN:
Retrospective cohort study.SETTING:
Hospital-based claims database from anonymised hospitals in Japan.PARTICIPANTS:
Patients (n=785 495) who visited and/or were hospitalised in 26 anonymised hospitals in Japan between January 2017 and November 2020. OUTCOMEMEASURES:
We compared changes in the monthly number of hospitalisations (overall or by diagnosis), outpatient visits, endoscopic fibrescopies (EFs), rehabilitations, outpatient chemotherapy treatments, maintenance haemodialysis treatments and outpatient prescriptions between pre-COVID-19 years and the same period in 2020.RESULTS:
The overall number of hospitalisations and outpatient visits decreased by 27% and 22%, respectively, in May 2020, of which the most substantial decrease was observed in the paediatrics department (65% and 51%, respectively). The number of hospitalisations for respiratory diseases, circulatory diseases, malignant neoplasms and digestive diseases decreased by a maximum of 55%, 32%, 10% and 26%, respectively, in 2020. The number of hospitalisations for non-COVID-19 pneumonia in patients aged <16 years, patients aged ≥16 years and patients with asthma decreased by 93%, 43% and 80%, respectively, in May 2020. EFs and outpatient rehabilitations decreased by >30%. In contrast, outpatient chemotherapy and maintenance haemodialysis treatments decreased by <10%, if at all. Outpatient prescriptions decreased by a maximum of 20% in 2020, with the largest decrease observed in drugs for obstructive airway diseases and cough and cold preparations.CONCLUSIONS:
The use of healthcare services by non-COVID-19 patients was most affected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. The number of hospitalisations for respiratory diseases, particularly non-COVID-19 pneumonia and asthma, drastically decreased, while the number of hospitalisations and outpatient chemotherapies for malignant neoplasms or maintenance haemodialysis was less affected.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Asthma
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bmjopen-2021-060390
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