Comparative changes in emergency department patient attendance at the Pediatric Emergency Hospital during the first wave between 2019 and 2020

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17843/rpmesp.2022.393.11245

Keywords:

Pediatrics, Emergency care, Emergency Service, Hospital, Pandemics, Delivery of Health Care, Peru, COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the pattern of patient attendance at healthcare facilities. We describe the comparative changes in the attendance of pediatric patients at the Emergency Department of the Pediatric Emergency Hospital of Lima, Peru, between epidemiological weeks 10 to 48 of 2019 and 2020. Sociodemographic data, patient condition, type of insurance and diagnosis grouped according to ICD-10 code were analyzed. We found a 48.2% reduction in the number of visits in 2020 when compared to 2019, and a five-fold increase in the number of visits from localities other than Metropolitan Lima. Likewise, the probability of diagnosis of “infectious and parasitic diseases” increased by 27% and the probability of diagnosis of “diseases of the respiratory system” decreased by 61%.

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Published

2022-09-30

Issue

Section

Brief Report

How to Cite

1.
Stramandinoli A, Alvarado-Zúñiga J, Alvarado GF, Egúsquiza-Zuzunaga G, Carreazo NY. Comparative changes in emergency department patient attendance at the Pediatric Emergency Hospital during the first wave between 2019 and 2020. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Publica [Internet]. 2022 Sep. 30 [cited 2024 Apr. 19];39(3):345-51. Available from: https://rpmesp.ins.gob.pe/index.php/rpmesp/article/view/11245