Abstract
BackgroundThe spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the guidance from authorities for social distancing and media reporting lead to significant uncertainty in Germany. Concerns have been expressed regarding the underdiagnosing of harmful diseases. We explored the rates of emergency presentations for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and acute cerebrovascular events (ACVE) before and after spread of SARS-CoV-2.MethodsWe analyzed all-cause visits at a tertiary university emergency department and admissions for ACS and ACVE before (calendar weeks 1–9, 2020) and after (calendar weeks 10–16, 2020) the first coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in the region of the Saarland, Germany. The data were compared with the same period of the previous year.ResultsIn 2020 an average of 346 patients per week presented at the emergency department whereas in 2019 an average of 400 patients presented up to calendar week 16 (p = 0.018; whole year 2019 = 395 patients per week). After the first COVID-19 diagnosis in the region, emergency department visit volume decreased by 30% compared with the same period in 2019 (p = 0.0012). Admissions due to ACS decreased by 41% (p = 0.0023 for all; Δ − 71% (p = 0.007) for unstable angina, Δ − 25% (p = 0.42) for myocardial infarction with ST-elevation and Δ − 17% (p = 0.28) without ST-elevation) compared with the same period in 2019 and decreased from 142 patients in calendar weeks 1–9 to 62 patients in calendar weeks 10–16. ACVE decreased numerically by 20% [p = 0.25 for all; transient ischemic attack: Δ − 32% (p = 0.18), ischemic stroke: Δ − 23% (p = 0.48), intracerebral haemorrhage: Δ + 57% (p = 0.4)]. There was no significant change in ACVE per week (p = 0.7) comparing calendar weeks 1–9 (213 patients) and weeks 10–16 (147 patients). Testing of 3756 samples was performed to detect 58 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients (prevalence 1,54%, thereof one patient with myocardial and two with cerebral ischemia) up to calendar week 16 in 2020.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant decrease in all-cause admission and admissions due to cardiovascular events in the emergency department. Regarding acute cerebrovascular events there was a numerical decrease but no significant difference.
Highlights
The ongoing pandemic of the novel coronavirus SARSCoV-2 disease (COVID-19) unsettles people worldwide and has led to 287,399 deaths globally by May 13, 2020 [1]
After the first COVID-19 diagnosis in the region, all-cause emergency department visit volume decreased by 30% compared with the same period in 2019 (1954 patients in 2020 vs. 2773 patients in 2019 at calendar weeks 10–16, p = 0.0012) and tended to further decrease by 36% after the shutdown in
After the first laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in calendar week 10 of 2020 in the Saarland, the number of patients diagnosed with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) decreased significantly by 41% compared with the previous year (62 patients in 2020 vs. 105 patients in 2019 at calendar weeks 10–16, p = 0.0023) (Fig. 3)
Summary
The ongoing pandemic of the novel coronavirus SARSCoV-2 disease (COVID-19) unsettles people worldwide and has led to 287,399 deaths globally by May 13, 2020 [1]. We explored the rates of emergency presentations for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and acute cerebrovascular events (ACVE) before and after spread of SARS-CoV-2. Methods We analyzed all-cause visits at a tertiary university emergency department and admissions for ACS and ACVE before (calendar weeks 1–9, 2020) and after (calendar weeks 10–16, 2020) the first coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in the region of the Saarland, Germany. After the first COVID19 diagnosis in the region, emergency department visit volume decreased by 30% compared with the same period in 2019 (p = 0.0012). There was no significant change in ACVE per week (p = 0.7) comparing calendar weeks 1–9 (213 patients) and weeks 10–16 (147 patients). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant decrease in all-cause admission and admissions due to cardiovascular events in the emergency department. Regarding acute cerebrovascular events there was a numerical decrease but no significant difference
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