European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Dec 2021
Multicenter StudyExamination of the relationship between emergency department presentations and population mortality: a multicenter analysis of emergency department presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the spring of 2020, Italy experienced a significant reduction in the number of emergency department (ED) presentations during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. If ED access has an impact on patients' prognosis, such a reduction in ED presentations would be expected to correlate with a parallel increase in the mortality rate of the corresponding population. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of reduced ED presentations on the all-cause mortality of the general population. ⋯ Taking into account the increase in mortality due to SARS-CoV-2, reductions in ED access did not seem to affect death rates. If this finding will be confirmed, ED organization and access would need to be reconsidered.