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Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions for the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department patient trends in Japan: a retrospective analysis.
Sekine, Ichiro; Uojima, Haruki; Koyama, Hiroshi; Kamio, Tadashi; Sato, Morihiko; Yamamoto, Tadatsugu; Fukaguchi, Kiyomitsu; Fukui, Hiroyuki; Yamagami, Hiroshi.
  • Sekine I; Department of Emergency Medicine Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Uojima H; Department of Gastroenterology Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Koyama H; Department of Intensive Care Medicine Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Kamio T; Department of Intensive Care Medicine Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Sato M; Department of Infection Control Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Yamamoto T; Department of Emergency Medicine Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Fukaguchi K; Department of Emergency Medicine Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Fukui H; Department of Emergency Medicine Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
  • Yamagami H; Department of Emergency Medicine Shonan Kamakura General Hospital Kamakura Japan.
Acute Med Surg ; 7(1): e603, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-897687
ABSTRACT

AIM:

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic massively impacted emergency department (ED) visits. The unavailability of specific therapies or vaccines has made non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) an alternative strategy for COVID-19. We assessed the impact of NPIs (nationwide school closures and state of emergency) on ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

METHODS:

This retrospective study compared the trends in ED visits from 1 January to 25 May, 2020 (during the pandemic) with the average during 2015-2019 (before the pandemic). The primary end-point was the change in the number of ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic with those from before the pandemic, with the NPI application stratified across four periods in 2020 Period 0 (1-15 January), no COVID-19 cases detected in Japan; Period I (16 January-1 March), initial COVID-19 outbreak; Period II (2 March-15 April), nationwide school closures; Period III (16 April-25 May), state of emergency.

RESULTS:

Compared with before the pandemic, the number of walk-in ED visits significantly decreased by 23.1%, 12.4%, and 24.0% (4,047 versus 3,111; 3,211 versus 2,813; and 3,384 versus 2,573; P < 0.001 for all) in Periods I, II, and III, respectively. The number of ambulance ED visits during the pandemic significantly increased by 8.3% in Period I (1,814 versus 1,964, P = 0.002), whereas there was no significant change in Periods II and III with 2.7% and -3.1% (1,547 versus 1,589 and 1,389 versus 1,346; P = 0.335 and P = 0.284, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS:

The application of an NPI during the COVID-19 pandemic could have significantly reduced patient attendance in the ED.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study Topics: Vaccines Language: English Journal: Acute Med Surg Year: 2020 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study Topics: Vaccines Language: English Journal: Acute Med Surg Year: 2020 Document Type: Article