The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Patient Profiles: A Case Study of a Turkish Tertiary Care Pediatric Emergency and Trauma Center

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we aim to investigate the impact of the pandemic on the operation of pediatric emergency services Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the files of patients aged 0–18 years, who visited the pediatric emergency department (PED) between April 15 and May 15 in 2020 and the same period in the previous year, were reviewed. Demographic characteristics, admission diagnoses, admission time, and follow-up data of the patients were obtained from the computer database of our hospital. The data of the pre-pandemic and pandemic period were compared. Results: During the selected month in the pandemic year (2020), the number of patients admitted to the hospital was 78% less than that admitted in the previous year (2019). While the percentage of admitted patients aged 13–18 years in the selected month was higher during the pandemic period than in 2019 (20.2% vs. 16%), the percentages of patients aged 1–6 years (41% vs. 43.7%) and 7–12 years (24.6% vs. 27.4%) were lower (p