Morris David, Rogers Megan, Kissmer Nicole, Du Preez Anzanne, Dufourq Nicholas
Emergency Department, Edendale Hospital, Plessislaer, South Africa.
Division of Emergency Medicine, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Afr J Emerg Med. 2020 Dec;10(4):193-196. doi: 10.1016/j.afjem.2020.06.005. Epub 2020 Jun 16.
The Covid-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented nationwide regulations aimed primarily at slowing the spread of the virus. The objective of this study was to describe the effect of these regulations on the number and severity of trauma presentations to a regional emergency department in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
A retrospective cohort study of the triage register at Edendale Hospital Emergency Department was conducted, comparing all trauma presentations in the month of April 2020 with those from the preceding two years. The number of patients, mechanism of trauma and severity of illness were recorded and compared.
A 47% reduction in the number of trauma cases was recorded for April 2020. The proportion of severe cases did not change. The categories showing a major decrease were motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian vehicle accidents, assault and gunshot wounds. The incidence of dog bite wounds and burns remained unchanged.
This study shows that the burden of trauma presenting to the emergency department was decreased in the month of April 2020 by the regulations implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
新冠疫情引发了前所未有的全国性管控措施，主要目的是减缓病毒传播。本研究的目的是描述这些管控措施对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省一个地区急诊科创伤就诊人数及严重程度的影响。
对伊登代尔医院急诊科的分诊登记册进行回顾性队列研究，将2020年4月所有创伤就诊情况与前两年的情况进行比较。记录并比较患者数量、创伤机制和疾病严重程度。
2020年4月创伤病例数减少了47%。重症病例的比例没有变化。大幅下降的类别包括机动车事故、行人交通事故、袭击和枪伤。犬咬伤和烧伤的发生率保持不变。
本研究表明，2020年4月因应对新冠疫情而实施的管控措施使急诊科的创伤负担有所减轻。
