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Namgung M, Lee DH, Bae SJ, Chung HS, Park JY, Kim K, Lee CA, Kim DH, Kim EC, Lim JY, Han SS, Choi YH. A Comparison of Emergency Department Revisit Rates of Pediatric Patients between Pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 Periods. CHILDREN 2022; 9:children9071003. [PMID: 35883987 PMCID: PMC9322694 DOI: 10.3390/children9071003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Unscheduled revisits to emergency departments (EDs) are important because they indicate the quality of emergency care. However, the characteristics of pediatric patients visiting EDs changed during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and these changes may have affected their revisit patterns. Therefore, we aimed to compare the ED revisit patterns of pediatric patients between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. This retrospective multicenter study included patients aged below 18 years who visited the ED in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. ED revisit rates were analyzed using five age groups and three visit-revisit intervals. In the pre-COVID-19 period, the revisit rates decreased with increasing age. In the COVID-19 period, the revisit rates were the lowest for the group aged 4–6 years, and the rates increased for those aged ≥7 years. In conclusion, there were changes in the patterns of revisit rates of pediatric patients according to age between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the reasons for revisits according to age and establish strategies to reduce the revisit rates of pediatric patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myeong Namgung
- Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06973, Korea;
| | - Dong Hoon Lee
- Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, Chung-Ang University, Gwangmyeong-si 14353, Korea; (S.J.B.); (H.S.C.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +82-2-2610-6751
| | - Sung Jin Bae
- Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, Chung-Ang University, Gwangmyeong-si 14353, Korea; (S.J.B.); (H.S.C.)
| | - Ho Sub Chung
- Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, Chung-Ang University, Gwangmyeong-si 14353, Korea; (S.J.B.); (H.S.C.)
| | - Ji Young Park
- Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06973, Korea;
| | - Keon Kim
- Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07804, Korea;
| | - Choung Ah Lee
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hwaseong-si 18450, Korea;
| | - Duk Ho Kim
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Eulji University, Seoul 01830, Korea;
| | - Eui Chung Kim
- CHA Bundang Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Seongnam-si 13496, Korea;
| | - Jee Yong Lim
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Seoul 06591, Korea;
| | - Sang Soo Han
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon-si 14584, Korea;
| | - Yoon Hee Choi
- Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul 07985, Korea;
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Park B, Bae W, Kim HJ, Lim JY, Oh SH, Youn CS, Kim HJ, Park KN, Song H. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cardio/cerebrovascular disease who visit the emergency department. Am J Emerg Med 2022; 58:100-105. [PMID: 35660366 PMCID: PMC9150904 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2022.05.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic situation is a state that has had a great impact on the medical system and society. To respond to the pandemic situation, various methods, such as a pre-triage system, are being implemented in the emergency medical field. However, there are insufficient studies on the effects of this pandemic situation on patients visiting the emergency department (ED), especially those with cardio/cerebrovascular diseases (CVD)1 classified as time-dependent emergencies. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients from April 2020 to December 2020 (April 2020 was when the pre-triage system was established) compared to a parallel comparison patient cohort from 2019. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. CVD was defined by the patient's final diagnosis. Results During the same period, the number of patients who had visited the ED after COVID-19 had decreased to 79.1% of the number of patients who had visited the ED before COVID-19. The overall patient mortality and the mortality in the patients cardiovascular disease had both increased, while the mortality from cerebrovascular disease did not increase. Meanwhile, the ED length of stay had increased in all patients but did not increase in the patients with cardiovascular disease. Conclusion As with prior studies conducted in other regions, in our study, the total number of ED visits were decreased compared to before COVID-19. The overall mortality had increased, particularly in the patients with cardiovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beomjin Park
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Woori Bae
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo Joon Kim
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Jee Yong Lim
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Hoon Oh
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Chun Song Youn
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Han Joon Kim
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyu Nam Park
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Hwan Song
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea; Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea.
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