Articles: emergency-services.
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Research has shown that during the 2003 SARS pandemic, emergency department (ED) visits among the pediatric population decreased. We set out to investigate if this was also true for injury-related ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ As was the case with SARS in 2003, COVID-19 acted as a deterrent for pediatric ED visits. The lockdown in particular had a profound impact on injury-related visits. The de-confinement period will be monitored to determine the impact in both the short and the long term.
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Multicenter Study
[COVID-19 emergency management at the Nephrology and Dialysis Unit in Savona, Albenga and Cairo Montenotte].
Our Nephrology and Dialysis Unit includes three Haemodialysis Centres based in Savona, Albenga and Cairo Montenotte. These provide assistance to 150 patients. We have a Peritoneal Dialysis Clinic with 35 patients, two Post-Transplant Clinics with about 120 patients in follow-up in Savona and Albenga, and three Pre-Dialysis Clinics across the three locations. ⋯ The results of this strategy have ensured that, of the 150 patients undergoing haemodialysis, only 3 have been tested positive: no patients in Albenga, 2 in Savona and 1 in Cairo Montenotte, all of them lived and were infected in their nursing homes. Also, there was no positivity among any of the staff members across the three locations. Our results are extremely positive and confirm the validity that prevention and protection procedures had in the earlier stages of the pandemic.
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Observational Study
Locked down: Impact of COVID-19 restrictions on trauma presentations to the emergency department.
COVID-19 was recognised as a global pandemic on 11 March 2020. In South Africa (SA), a nationwide lockdown was implemented at midnight on 26 March to prepare for the predicted surge and slow the spread of the virus. ⋯ The volume of trauma presentations secondary to interpersonal violence and RTCs in the Helen Joseph Hospital ED decreased during the lockdown period. The decline in the volume of RTCs was statistically significant, but declines in the volume of trauma presentations secondary to interpersonal violence and in the volume of overall trauma presentations were not.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Dec 2020
Multicenter StudyThe effect of national lockdown due to COVID-19 on emergency department visits.
COVID-19 outbreak lead to nationwide lockdown in Finland on the March 16th, 2020. Previous data regarding to the patient load in the emergency departments during pandemics is scarce. Our aim is to describe the effect of national lockdown and social distancing on the number and reasons for emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient admissions in three large volume hospitals prior to and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in Finland. ⋯ Changes in ED visits and inpatient admissions prior to and during the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak were unpredictable, and our results may help hospitals and especially ED's focus their resources better. Surprisingly, there was a major decrease in the rate of ED visits due to back or limb pain and not so surprisingly in infectious diseases. Rates of acute myocardial infarctions and cerebral strokes remained stable. In summary, stabile resources for the treatment of patients with severe diseases will be needed in hospitals and ED's.
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Observational Study
Machine-learning prediction of unplanned 30-day rehospitalization using the French hospital medico-administrative database.
Predicting unplanned rehospitalizations has traditionally employed logistic regression models. Machine learning (ML) methods have been introduced in health service research and may improve the prediction of health outcomes. The objective of this work was to develop a ML model to predict 30-day all-cause rehospitalizations based on the French hospital medico-administrative database. ⋯ In contrast, LR was superior to CART (H-measure = 0.16, AUC = 0.70), P < .0001. The use of ML may be an alternative to regression models to predict health outcomes. The integration of ML, particularly the RF algorithm, in the prediction of unplanned rehospitalization may help health service providers target patients at high risk of rehospitalizations and propose effective interventions at the hospital level.