Journal
FRONTIERS IN PEDIATRICS
Volume 10, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.918286
Keywords
children; adolescents; emergencies; emergency department; COVID-19; pandemic
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This study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric emergency cases in a tertiary-level children's hospital in Italy. The results showed no significant changes in the number and proportion of pediatric emergency cases during the pandemic, but there was a significant decrease in the proportion of emergency cases related to respiratory diseases.
AimEmergency cases are uncommon events in the pediatric emergency setting. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by describing the number and type of pediatric emergency cases that arrived at the pediatric emergency department (PED) of a tertiary-level children's hospital in Italy. MethodsWe performed a retrospective study, collecting the main features of pediatric emergency patients who arrived during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-February 2021) compared to the pre-pandemic period (March 2016-February 2020). ResultsDuring the study period, 112,168 patients were visited at the PED, and 237 (0.21%) were emergency cases, median age of 4 years (IQR: 1-12). In the first year of the pandemic, 42 children were coded as emergency cases compared to 195 (49/year) during the pre-pandemic period. The proportion of emergency cases was stable (0.27% during the COVID-19 period versus 0.20% during the pre-COVID-19 period, p = 0.19). No differences were found regarding the age, gender, hour of arrival, and outcome of patients. We found a significant decrease in the proportion of emergency cases related to respiratory diseases (9/42, 21.4% during the COVID-19 period versus 83/195 during the pre-COVID-19 period (42.6%), p = 0.01). ConclusionIn conclusion, our data suggest that the pandemic had a more significant impact on respiratory emergency cases than on pediatric emergencies in general.
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