• Miguel Ángel Molina Gutiérrez, José Antonio Ruiz Domínguez, Bueno Barriocanal Marta M Servicio de Urgencias Pediátricas, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España., Begoña de Miguel Lavisier, López López Rosario R Servicio de Urgencias Pediátricas, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España., Julia Martín Sánchez, and María de Ceano-Vivas la Calle.
• Servicio de Urgencias Pediátricas, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España. Electronic address: malacatin@hotmail.com.
• An Pediatr (Barc). 2020 Nov 1; 93 (5): 313-322.

IntroductionSARS-CoV-2, coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first detected in Spain on 31 January 2020. On 14 March 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Spain in a bid to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The aim of our study is to analyse the impact on emergency medicine attendance after the national lockdown, as well as the clinical presentation and the management of patients with suspected COVID-19 in the Paediatric Emergency Department.Patients And MethodsThis retrospective observational study included children and adolescents under the age of 18, attended in our Paediatric Emergency Department during the period March 14 to April 17, 2020.ResultsA total of 1,666 patients were attended during the study period, 65.4% less than in the same period of 2019. Just over half (51.2%) were males, and mean age was 5.4 years. In triage, 39.9% were high priority levels, 6.5% more than 2019. Most frequent reasons for consultation at the Paediatric Emergency Department were fever (26.5%), respiratory symptoms (16.1%), and trauma (15.2%). A total of 218 patients (13%) received a diagnosis of possible COVID-19, with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed in 18.4%, and 23.8% (52/218) were hospitalised. At discharge, 44% (96/218) were diagnosed with lower, and 33.9% (74/218) with upper respiratory infection.ConclusionsDuring the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, the demand for urgent paediatric care decreased, with the proportion of cases with high priority triage levels increasing. Most of the patients with suspected or microbiological confirmation of COVID-19 had mild respiratory symptoms.Copyright © 2020 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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