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Research article
Christine Happle
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover Zentrum fur Kinderheilkunde und Jugendmedizin
Corresponding Author
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background:The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare systems worldwide. Besides the direct impact of the virus on morbidity and mortality of patients, the effect of lockdown strategies on health and healthcare utilization become more and more apparent. Little is known on the effect of the pandemic on pediatric healthcare utilization. We examined the impact of the pandemic on pediatric emergency healthcare.
Methods: We conducted a monocentric, retrospective analysis of n=5.424 pediatric emergency visits between January 1st and April 19th of 2019 and 2020, and compared healthcare utilization in the month post lockdown 2020 to the same period in 2019.
Results: 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, p<0.01 in 2020) 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.
Conclusion: Our data illustrate a significant decrease in pediatric emergency room visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public outreach is needed to encourage parents to seek medical attention for pediatric emergencies in spite of the pandemic.
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2, children, pandemic, healthcare utilization, emergency care, COVID-19, pediatric, emergency department
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Pediatrics.
Version 1
Posted 21 May, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #3 received
Received 13 Jun, 2020
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 13 Jun, 2020
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 31 May, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 26 May, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 26 May, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 23 May, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 May, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 22 May, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 22 May, 2020
Editor assigned
On 19 May, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 18 May, 2020
Editor invited
On 18 May, 2020
First submitted
On 17 May, 2020
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Subject Areas
Pediatrics
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See the published version of this preprint at BMC Pediatrics.
This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Christine Happle
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover Zentrum fur Kinderheilkunde und Jugendmedizin
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Pediatrics.
Version 1
Posted 21 May, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #3 received
Received 13 Jun, 2020
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 13 Jun, 2020
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 31 May, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 26 May, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 26 May, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 23 May, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 May, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 22 May, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 22 May, 2020
Editor assigned
On 19 May, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 18 May, 2020
Editor invited
On 18 May, 2020
First submitted
On 17 May, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Pediatrics
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published article at BMC Pediatrics.
Background:The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare systems worldwide. Besides the direct impact of the virus on morbidity and mortality of patients, the effect of lockdown strategies on health and healthcare utilization become more and more apparent. Little is known on the effect of the pandemic on pediatric healthcare utilization. We examined the impact of the pandemic on pediatric emergency healthcare.
Methods: We conducted a monocentric, retrospective analysis of n=5.424 pediatric emergency visits between January 1st and April 19th of 2019 and 2020, and compared healthcare utilization in the month post lockdown 2020 to the same period in 2019.
Results: 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, p<0.01 in 2020) 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.
Conclusion: Our data illustrate a significant decrease in pediatric emergency room visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public outreach is needed to encourage parents to seek medical attention for pediatric emergencies in spite of the pandemic.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
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