Department of Pediatric Pneumology, Allergology, and Neonatology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, D - 30625, Hannover, Germany.
German Center for Lung Research, Biomedical Research in End Stage and Obstructive Lung Disease, BREATH Hannover, Hanover, Germany.
BMC Pediatr. 2020 Sep 7;20(1):427. doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-02303-6.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare systems worldwide. In addition to the direct impact of the virus on patient morbidity and mortality, the effect of lockdown strategies on health and healthcare utilization have become apparent. Little is known on the effect of the pandemic on pediatric and adolescent medicine. We examined the impact of the pandemic on pediatric emergency healthcare utilization.
We conducted a monocentric, retrospective analysis of n = 5,424 pediatric emergency department visits between January 1st and April 19th of 2019 and 2020, and compared healthcare utilization during the pandemic in 2020 to the same period in 2019.
In the four weeks after lockdown in Germany began, we observed a massive drop of 63.8% in pediatric emergency healthcare utilization (mean daily visits 26.8 ± SEM 1.5 in 2019 vs. 9.7 ± SEM 1 in 2020, p < 0.005). This drop in cases occurred for both communicable and non-communicable diseases. A larger proportion of patients under one year old (daily mean of 16.6% ±SEM 1.4 in 2019 vs. 23.1% ±SEM 1.7 in 2020, p < 0.01) and of cases requiring hospitalisation (mean of 13.9% ±SEM 1.6 in 2019 vs. 26.6% ±SEM 3.3 in 2020, p < 0.001) occurred during the pandemic. During the analysed time periods, few intensive care admissions and no fatalities occurred.
Our data illustrate a significant decrease in pediatric emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public outreach is needed to encourage parents and guardians to seek medical attention for pediatric emergencies in spite of the pandemic.
COVID-19 大流行已经扰乱了全球的医疗体系。除了病毒对患者发病率和死亡率的直接影响外，封锁策略对健康和医疗保健利用的影响也已经显现出来。对于大流行对儿科和青少年医学的影响知之甚少。我们研究了大流行对儿科急诊医疗保健利用的影响。
我们对 2019 年 1 月 1 日至 4 月 19 日和 2020 年期间的 5424 例儿科急诊就诊进行了单中心回顾性分析，并比较了 2020 年大流行期间和 2019 年同期的医疗保健利用情况。
在德国开始封锁后的四周内，我们观察到儿科急诊医疗保健利用率大幅下降 63.8%（2019 年平均每日就诊 26.8 ± SEM 1.5 例，2020 年为 9.7 ± SEM 1 例，p < 0.005）。这种病例减少发生在传染性和非传染性疾病中。一岁以下的患者比例更大（2019 年平均为 16.6% ± SEM 1.4%，2020 年为 23.1% ± SEM 1.7%，p < 0.01），需要住院的病例比例也更高（2019 年平均为 13.9% ± SEM 1.6%，2020 年为 26.6% ± SEM 3.3%，p < 0.001）。在分析期间，只有少数患者入住重症监护病房，没有死亡病例。
我们的数据说明了在 COVID-19 大流行期间儿科急诊就诊量显著减少。需要进行公众宣传，鼓励家长和监护人在大流行期间为儿科急诊就诊寻求医疗帮助。
