Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Emergency Department of a tertiary children’s hospital

Raucci, Umberto; Musolino, Anna Maria; Di Lallo, Domenico; Piga, Simone; Barbieri, Maria Antonietta; Pisani, Mara; Rossi, Francesco Paolo; Reale, Antonino; Ciofi degli Atti, Marta Luisa; Villani, Alberto; Raponi, Massimiliano

doi:10.1186/s13052-021-00976-y

Italian Journal of Pediatrics

Table 1 Emergency Department visits by selected characteristics. Comparison between prepandemic and pandemic periods in the two centers of a tertiary children’s hospital

From: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Emergency Department of a tertiary children’s hospital

Emergency Department Visits	OPBG Rome							OPBG Palidoro
	Prepandemic Period^a		Pandemic period^a		p-value^#	p-value^&	% Change	Prepandemic Period^a		Pandemic period^a		p-value^#	p-value^&	% Change
	N.	%	N.	%	p-value^#	p-value^&	% Change	N.	%	N.	%			% Change
Total	12,602		5572			< 0.001	−56	6475		3469			< 0.001	−62
Age, Years					< 0.001							0.103
< 1	2067	16.4	930	16.7		< 0.001	−55	657	10.1	257	10.4		< 0.001	− 61
1–5	5436	43.1	2242	40.2		< 0.001	−59	2875	44.4	1039	42.1		< 0.001	−64
6–11	3188	25.3	1396	25.1		< 0.001	−56	1925	29.7	738	29.9		< 0.001	−62
≥ 12	1911	15.2	995	17.9		< 0.001	−48	1017	15.7	434	17.6		< 0.001	−57
Sex					0.103							0.584
Male	7017	55.7	3025	54.3		< 0.001	−57	3559	55.0	1373	55.6		< 0.001	−61
Female	5585	44.3	2538	45.5		< 0.001	−55	2916	45.0	1096	44.4		< 0.001	−62
Mode of Arrival					< 0.001							< 0.001
Autonomous	11,656	92.5	4964	89.1		< 0.001	−57	6382	98.6	2256	91.4		< 0.001	−65
Ambulance	935	7.4	602	10.8		< 0.001	−36	93	1.4	213	8.6		< 0.001	+ 129
Helicopter	11	0.1	6	0.1		< 0.001	−45	–	–	–			–
Priority Consultation					< 0.001							< 0.001
High/Intermediate	2973	23.6	2017	36.2		< 0.001	−32	580	9.0	654	26.5		0.247	+ 13
Low/Non Urgent	9629	76.4	3555	63.8		< 0.001	−63	5895	91.0	1815	73.5		< 0.001	−69
Selected ICD-9 CM Chapters					< 0.001							< 0.001
Neoplasms	55	0.4	55	1.0		0.942	0	2	0.0	5	0.2		0.256	+ 150
Blood and Blood Forming Organs	105	0.8	56	1.0		< 0.01	−47	69	1.1	14	0.6		< 0.001	−80
Mental Disorders	195	1.5	143	2.6		< 0.01	−27	21	0.3	16	0.6		0.404	−24
Nervous System and Sense Organs	776	6.2	225	4.0		< 0.001	−71	481	7.4	113	4.6		< 0.001	−77
Circulatory System	71	0.6	52	0,9		0.05	- 27	23	0,4	14	0,6		0.982	−39
Respiratory System	3013	23.9	1118	20.1		< 0.001	−63	1638	25.3	650	26.3		< 0.001	−60
Digestive System	475	3.8	273	4.9		< 0.001	−43	173	2.7	79	3.2		< 0.001	−54
Congenital Anomalies	237	1.9	130	2.3		< 0.001	−45	57	0.9	20	0.8		< 0.001	−65
Injury and Poisoning	3097	24.6	1643	29.5		< 0.001	−47	1651	25.5	638	25.8		< 0.001	−61
Place/Type of Accident					< 0.001							< 0.001
Home	527	4.2	811	14.6		< 0.001	+ 54	358	5.5	305	5.5		< 0.05	−15
School	267	2.1	27	0.5		< 0.001	−90	258	4.0	32	1.3		< 0.001	−88
Sport	298	2.4	62	1.1		< 0.001	− 79	251	3.9	52	2.1		< 0.001	−79
Road Traffic	52	0.4	16	0.3		< 0.01	−69	21	0.3	1	0.0		< 0.001	−95
Other Places	783	6.2	258	4.6		< 0.001	−67	493	7.6	127	5.1		< 0.001	−74

^a Prepandemic corresponds to February 21–April 30, 2019 and Pandemic to February 21–April 30, 2020; # chi-squared & t-test comparing differences in mean daily numbers of ED visits between the two periods

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