The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patients
Abstract Objectives To determine the impact of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the length of stay (LOS) and prognosis of patients in the resuscitation area. Methods A retrospective analysis of case data of patients in the resuscitation area during the early stages of the COVID-19...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Health Services Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08084-1 |
| _version_ | 1811254272289931264 |
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| author | Fengbao Guo Yan Qin Hailong Fu Feng Xu |
| author_facet | Fengbao Guo Yan Qin Hailong Fu Feng Xu |
| author_sort | Fengbao Guo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objectives To determine the impact of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the length of stay (LOS) and prognosis of patients in the resuscitation area. Methods A retrospective analysis of case data of patients in the resuscitation area during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (January 15, 2020– January 14, 2021) was performed and compared with the pre-COVID-19 period (January 15, 2019 – January 14, 2020) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. The patients’ information, including age, sex, length of stay, and death, was collected. The Wilcoxon Rank sum test was performed to compare the LOS difference between the two periods. Fisher's Exact test and Chi-Squared test were used to analyze the prognosis of patients. The LOS and prognosis in different departments of the resuscitation area (emergency internal medicine, emergency surgery, emergency neurology, and other departments) were further analyzed. Results Of the total 8278 patients, 4159 (50.24%) were enrolled in the COVID-19 pandemic period group, and 4119 (49.76%) were enrolled pre-COVID-19 period group. The length of stay was prolonged significantly in the COVID-19 period compared with the pre-COVID-19 period (13h VS 9.8h, p < 0.001). The LOS in the COVID-19 period was prolonged in both emergency internal medicine (15.3h VS 11.3h, p < 0.001) and emergency surgery (8.7h VS 4.9h, p < 0.001) but not in emergency neurology or other emergency departments. There was no significant difference in mortality between the two cohorts (4.8% VS 5.3%, p = 0.341). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant increase in the length of resuscitation area stay, which may lead to resuscitation area crowding. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients of different departments was variable. There was no significant impact on the LOS of emergency neurology. According to different departments of the resuscitation area, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t significantly impact the prognosis of patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:04:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d4915f6bd2b34eca88397b559b0c2df0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6963 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:04:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Health Services Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4915f6bd2b34eca88397b559b0c2df02022-12-22T03:23:59ZengBMCBMC Health Services Research1472-69632022-05-012211910.1186/s12913-022-08084-1The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patientsFengbao Guo0Yan Qin1Hailong Fu2Feng Xu3Department of Emergency Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityDepartment of Emergency Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityClinical laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityDepartment of Emergency Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow UniversityAbstract Objectives To determine the impact of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the length of stay (LOS) and prognosis of patients in the resuscitation area. Methods A retrospective analysis of case data of patients in the resuscitation area during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (January 15, 2020– January 14, 2021) was performed and compared with the pre-COVID-19 period (January 15, 2019 – January 14, 2020) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. The patients’ information, including age, sex, length of stay, and death, was collected. The Wilcoxon Rank sum test was performed to compare the LOS difference between the two periods. Fisher's Exact test and Chi-Squared test were used to analyze the prognosis of patients. The LOS and prognosis in different departments of the resuscitation area (emergency internal medicine, emergency surgery, emergency neurology, and other departments) were further analyzed. Results Of the total 8278 patients, 4159 (50.24%) were enrolled in the COVID-19 pandemic period group, and 4119 (49.76%) were enrolled pre-COVID-19 period group. The length of stay was prolonged significantly in the COVID-19 period compared with the pre-COVID-19 period (13h VS 9.8h, p < 0.001). The LOS in the COVID-19 period was prolonged in both emergency internal medicine (15.3h VS 11.3h, p < 0.001) and emergency surgery (8.7h VS 4.9h, p < 0.001) but not in emergency neurology or other emergency departments. There was no significant difference in mortality between the two cohorts (4.8% VS 5.3%, p = 0.341). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant increase in the length of resuscitation area stay, which may lead to resuscitation area crowding. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients of different departments was variable. There was no significant impact on the LOS of emergency neurology. According to different departments of the resuscitation area, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t significantly impact the prognosis of patients.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08084-1COVID-19Length of Stayresuscitation area crowdingemergency department crowding |
| spellingShingle | Fengbao Guo Yan Qin Hailong Fu Feng Xu The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patients BMC Health Services Research COVID-19 Length of Stay resuscitation area crowding emergency department crowding |
| title | The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patients |
| title_full | The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patients |
| title_fullStr | The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patients |
| title_short | The impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department length of stay for urgent and life-threatening patients |
| title_sort | impact of covid 19 on emergency department length of stay for urgent and life threatening patients |
| topic | COVID-19 Length of Stay resuscitation area crowding emergency department crowding |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08084-1 |
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