Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: T he coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pan- demic has significantly affected health care utilization in the United States. Although reductions in routine outpatient visits and elective procedures were intentional in preparation for increases in COVID-19related volume, 1 National Syndromic Surveillance Program data indicate that weekly emergency department (ED) visits decreased 42% during the early stages of the pandemic. 2 This reduction may have been driven by a public fear of seeking care, A group of U.S. hospitals recently reported a 38% reduction in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) activations, 5 and a national neuroimaging database indicated a 39% reduction in patients undergoing stroke imaging. To yield a more complete picture of the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on emergency care, we sought to describe ED visit trends for other serious diagnoses requiring acute intervention or hospitalization.
Source: Academic Emergency Medicine
DOI: 10.1111/acem.14099
Institution: Northwestern University
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W3046517842