Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China
Background: In Wuhan, China, a stringent lockdown was implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19, transitioning later to normalised prevention and control strategy. This study examines the trends in hospital visits for acute and chronic respiratory diseases, with a focus on outpatient, inpatient,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Global Transitions |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589791823000385 |
| _version_ | 1797360001516306432 |
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| author | Xuemin Zhu Yuehua Liu Wei Dai Wannian Liang Guanqiao Li |
| author_facet | Xuemin Zhu Yuehua Liu Wei Dai Wannian Liang Guanqiao Li |
| author_sort | Xuemin Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: In Wuhan, China, a stringent lockdown was implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19, transitioning later to normalised prevention and control strategy. This study examines the trends in hospital visits for acute and chronic respiratory diseases, with a focus on outpatient, inpatient, and severe condition visits. Methods: The study used administrative health insurance data spanning from January 2018 to August 2021, an interrupted time series analysis was conducted to assess the trend in hospital visits per million population for respiratory diseases. To confirm whether the change was exclusive to respiratory diseases, neoplasms and intracerebral haemorrhage were used as controls. The impact of the pandemic was estimated by comparing by weekly admissions to pre-pandemic levels. Subgroup analyses dissected variations by disease and visit types. Results: Hospital visits for respiratory diseases declined significantly during the lockdown and exhibited a slower recovery in the later normalised prevention and control period compared to the control conditions. As of August 2021, outpatient visits increased by over 22.2% above the pre-pandemic level, while inpatient and severe condition visits witnessed significant reductions, falling to 46.7% and 80.6% of pre-pandemic levels, respectively. Compared to three other subgroups, visits for acute lower respiratory infections experienced the most significant decline, with inpatient and severe visits dropping to 23.9% and 25.7% of pre-pandemic levels. Interpretation: Our study revealed a persistent reduction in inpatient and severe case visits for respiratory diseases throughout the ongoing pandemic. These findings suggested the possible role of non-pharmaceutical interventions in mitigating acute and chronic non-COVID respiratory diseases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:32:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-da369760b2d24ec1a9b778ae28dc060f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-7918 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:32:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Transitions |
| spelling | doaj.art-da369760b2d24ec1a9b778ae28dc060f2024-01-10T04:39:15ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Global Transitions2589-79182024-01-0163744Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, ChinaXuemin Zhu0Yuehua Liu1Wei Dai2Wannian Liang3Guanqiao Li4Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Institute for Healthy China, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaHospital Management Institute, Wuhan University, ChinaVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Institute for Healthy China, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Corresponding author. Vanke School of Public Health and Institute for Healthy China, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Institute for Healthy China, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Corresponding author. Vanke School of Public Health and Institute for Healthy China, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.Background: In Wuhan, China, a stringent lockdown was implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19, transitioning later to normalised prevention and control strategy. This study examines the trends in hospital visits for acute and chronic respiratory diseases, with a focus on outpatient, inpatient, and severe condition visits. Methods: The study used administrative health insurance data spanning from January 2018 to August 2021, an interrupted time series analysis was conducted to assess the trend in hospital visits per million population for respiratory diseases. To confirm whether the change was exclusive to respiratory diseases, neoplasms and intracerebral haemorrhage were used as controls. The impact of the pandemic was estimated by comparing by weekly admissions to pre-pandemic levels. Subgroup analyses dissected variations by disease and visit types. Results: Hospital visits for respiratory diseases declined significantly during the lockdown and exhibited a slower recovery in the later normalised prevention and control period compared to the control conditions. As of August 2021, outpatient visits increased by over 22.2% above the pre-pandemic level, while inpatient and severe condition visits witnessed significant reductions, falling to 46.7% and 80.6% of pre-pandemic levels, respectively. Compared to three other subgroups, visits for acute lower respiratory infections experienced the most significant decline, with inpatient and severe visits dropping to 23.9% and 25.7% of pre-pandemic levels. Interpretation: Our study revealed a persistent reduction in inpatient and severe case visits for respiratory diseases throughout the ongoing pandemic. These findings suggested the possible role of non-pharmaceutical interventions in mitigating acute and chronic non-COVID respiratory diseases.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589791823000385COVID-19Respiratory diseasesInpatient visitsOutpatient visitsVisits for severe condition |
| spellingShingle | Xuemin Zhu Yuehua Liu Wei Dai Wannian Liang Guanqiao Li Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China Global Transitions COVID-19 Respiratory diseases Inpatient visits Outpatient visits Visits for severe condition |
| title | Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China |
| title_full | Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China |
| title_fullStr | Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China |
| title_short | Reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China |
| title_sort | reduction in inpatient and severe condition visits for respiratory diseases during the covid 19 pandemic in wuhan china |
| topic | COVID-19 Respiratory diseases Inpatient visits Outpatient visits Visits for severe condition |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589791823000385 |
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