Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-17T15:51:40.015Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Emergency Department Volumes After State-Wide Lockdown Orders Across the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic: COVID-19 lockdown and emergency volume

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2024

Nicole Lau ,
Stephen Patterson ,
Steven Kim  and
Tommy Y. Kim
Nicole Lau
Affiliation:
HCA Healthcare, Riverside Community Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine
Stephen Patterson
Affiliation:
HCA Healthcare, Riverside Community Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine
Steven Kim
Affiliation:
HCA Healthcare, Riverside Community Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine
Tommy Y. Kim*
Affiliation:
HCA Healthcare, Riverside Community Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine
*
Corresponding author: Tommy Y. Kim; Email: tommy.kim@hcahealthcare.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study was to describe changes in emergency department volumes after statewide lockdown in a network of hospitals across the United States during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Methods:

A retrospective study was performed utilizing data on daily volumes across multiple emergency departments from a centralized data warehouse from a private for-profit hospital system during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean daily volumes of 148 emergency departments were evaluated across 16 states in relation to each state’s governmental statewide lockdown orders. Comparisons of the same period in the prior year were evaluated for percent changes in volumes. We also compared pre-lockdown to post-lockdown volumes. A separate analysis was made for the pediatric ED volumes.

Results:

The 2020 post-lockdown volumes compared to the same 2019 dates revealed a mean percent change of −43.09%. The overall post-lockdown volumes compared to the pre-lockdown volumes had a mean percent change of −45.00%. The pediatric data revealed a greater mean percentage change in volumes of −71.52% (post-lockdown compared to 2019) and −69.03% (post-lockdown compared to pre-lockdown).

Conclusions:

This study found an overall decrease in volumes among 148 emergency departments across 16 states when compared to the comparable period pre-global pandemic.

Keywords

covid-19lockdownemergency departmentvolume
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 18 , 2024 , e29
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cozzi, G, Zanchi, C, Giangreco, M, et al. The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy on a pediatric emergency setting. Acta Paediatr. 2020;109(10):2157-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dopfer, C, Wetzke, M, Zychlinsky, SA, et al. COVID-19 related reduction in pediatric emergency healthcare utilization – a concerning trend. BMC Pediatr. 2020;20(1):427.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giannouchos, TV, Biskupiak, J, Moss, MJ, et al. Trends in outpatient emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic at a large, urban, academic hospital system. Am J Emerg Med. 2021;40:20-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lam, CN, Axeen, S, Terp, S, et al. Who stayed home under Safer-at-Home? Impacts of COVID-19 on volume and patient-mix at an emergency department. West J Emerg Med. 2021;22(2):234-43.Google ScholarPubMed
Mervosh, S, Lu, D, Swales, V, et al. See which states and cities have told residents to stay at home. nytimes.com https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-stay-at-home-order.html Google Scholar
Finkelstein, Y, Maguire, B, Zemek, R, et al. Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient volumes, acuity, and outcomes in pediatric emergency departments. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2021;37(8):427-34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldman, RD, Grafstein, E, Barclay, N, et al. Pediatric patients seen in 18 emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerg Med J.S 2020;37(12):773-7.Google ScholarPubMed