PloS one
2026-01-01
Wizyty w oddziałach ratunkowych i wzorce chorób podczas i po lockdownie COVID-19
Emergency department visits and disease patterns during and after the COVID-19 lockdown.
Recenzja AI
Cel badania
Celem badania była analiza zmian w liczbie pacjentów oraz przesunięć w wzorcach chorobowych wśród pacjentów dorosłych i pediatrycznych odwiedzających oddział ratunkowy podczas i po lockdownie COVID-19 w Libanie.
Metoda
Zastosowano retrospektywną obserwacyjną metodę badawczą, wykorzystując dane administracyjne z oddziału ratunkowego w Beirucie, obejmującą 69 870 pacjentów w okresie od 29 lutego 2020 do 14 kwietnia 2022 roku.
Wyniki
Wyniki wykazały znaczący wzrost wizyt pediatrycznych po lockdownie, podczas gdy wizyty dorosłych wracały do normy wolniej, z zauważalnymi zmianami w diagnozach.
Znaczenie dla praktyki
Badanie podkreśla potrzebę ciągłego monitorowania oddziałów ratunkowych oraz elastycznych strategii opieki zdrowotnej, co jest istotne dla polskich pracowników medycznych w kontekście dostosowywania usług do zmieniających się potrzeb pacjentów.
Abstrakt oryginalny
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in healthcare systems worldwide, particularly in emergency department (ED) utilization. While much research has focused on pre-pandemic and lockdown periods, most published evidence comes from high-income settings, with fewer studies from LMICs examining the post-lockdown ED trends and diagnostic patterns. AIM: This study analyzed variations in patient volumes and shifts in disease patterns among both adult and pediatric patients presenting to the ED during and after the COVID-19 lockdown at a tertiary care center in Lebanon. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted using administrative data from the ED of a tertiary care medical center in Beirut, Lebanon. The study focused on adult and pediatric patients admitted between February 29, 2020, and April 14, 2022, and included a total of 69,870 patients, of whom 21.2% were pediatric cases. RESULTS: The average age of patients decreased significantly post-lockdown (41.7 ± 24.9 vs. 37.7 ± 25.7 years, p-value <0.001), driven by a rise in pediatric visits (from 17.4% to 23.9%, p-value <0.001) demonstrating a catch-up effect. Adult volumes recovered more slowly throughout the post-lockdown period. Pediatric visits for respiratory tracts infections, COVID-19, and ear diseases surged post-lockdown (increases ranging from 303% to 355%). Adult patients showed decreases in COVID-19 and pregnancy-related visits and significant increases in injury, poisoning, digestive system diseases, and other viral infections. Post-lockdown, ED visits shifted toward lower acuity, with reduced admission rates and a slight decrease in length of stay. CONCLUSION: After the COVID-19 containment period, ED visits significantly increased, especially in the pediatric age group, while adult volumes recovered more slowly with distinct diagnostic shifts. These patterns in ED visits during the pandemic highlight the need for continuous ED surveillance and flexible, adaptive healthcare strategies that can rapidly scale services and adjust staffing to meet the evolving demands of both pediatric and adult populations during and after public health emergencies.