Fouzia Aurangzeb, Asma Waheed, Abdus Salam Khan, Abdul Sattar.
The Impact of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Emergency Room Attendances: Experience at a Tertiary Care Centre in Pakistan.
South Asian J Emerg Med Jan ;3(2):27-30.

OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a significant effect on the workload of Emergency departments all over the globe and various reports have shown markedly decreased patient volumes in Emergency Departments especially in the initial phase of this pandemic. This study was designed to highlight the pattern of Emergency attendances during the initial period of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in a tertiary care center in Pakistan. METHODS: This retrospective, observational survey of Emergency Department visits was conducted at Shifa International hospital in the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the patients presenting during the study period (March to May 2020) were included in the study. An analogous 3-month period in 2019(March to May) was used as a reference. Total visits, as well as priority level at arrival, diagnosis and disposition at discharge along with age and gender, were recorded and the changes in Emergency Department visits were compared between the two years. RESULTS: During the above 3-month study period, the total number of Emergency Department visits in 2020 was noted to be 40% lower compared to 2019. Percentage of hospitalizations increased to 32.7 % (of all Emergency Department visits) in 2020: a 4.1% rise (p-value<0.05). An overall increased mortality rate in the Emergency Department was noted in the year 2020: 1.1% compared to 0.6% in 2019 (p-value <0.05). CONCLUSION: Total number of patients presenting to our Emergency department significantly fell during the early phase of the regional spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Public health authorities should provide reassurance to patients suffering from life-threatening ailments that they will not be neglected, and they must emphasize and reinforce the importance of seeking timely medical attention for serious and acute conditions during the present COVID-19 pandemic to avoid adverse outcomes resulting from delay in seeking urgent care.

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