Abstract
BackgroundTo present the new trends in epidemiology of road traffic injuries (RTIs) during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Suzhou.MethodsPre-hospital records of RTIs from January to May in 2020 and the same period in 2019 were obtained from the database of Suzhou pre-hospital emergency center, Jiangsu, China. Data were extracted for analysis, including demographic characteristics, pre-hospital vital signs, transport, shock index, consciousness, pre-hospital death. A retrospective study comparing epidemiological characteristics of RTIs in Suzhou during the 5-month period in 2020 to the parallel period in 2019 was performed.ResultsA total of 7288 RTIs in 2020 and 8869 in 2019 met inclusion criteria. The overall volume of RTIs has statistical difference between the 2 years (p < 0.001), with fewer RTIs in 2020 compared with 2019. Electric bicycle related RTIs increased during the pandemic (2641, 36.24% vs 2380, 26.84%, p < 0.001), with a higher incidence of RTIs with disorder of consciousness (DOC) (7.22% vs 6.13%, p = 0.006).ConclusionsUnder the impact of COVID-19, the total number of RTIs in Suzhou from January to May 2020 decreased. This observation was coupled with a rise in electric bicycle related injuries and an increase in the incidence of RTIs with DOC.
Highlights
To present the new trends in epidemiology of road traffic injuries (RTIs) during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Suzhou
* Correspondence: sdfyycd@suda.edu.cn †Wenjuan Huang and Qi Lin contributed to this work. 1Department of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article In China, the RTIs are the second cause of all types of injuries that lead to emergency department visits, constituting 21% of all injuries, and have become the leading cause of injury deaths [2]
The most marked reduction occurred in late January and February 2020 when compared to year 2019
Summary
To present the new trends in epidemiology of road traffic injuries (RTIs) during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Suzhou. The RTIs are the eighth leading cause of death for people of all ages and the leading killer of children and young adults aged 5–29 years [1]. The highest mortality of RTIs occurred among young adults aged 20–45 years, males, and in rural areas [2]. The COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [3]. This virus is believed to be transmitted by aerosols and/or droplets, and has showed strong infectivity and pathogenicity [3, 4]. The institution of interventions including traffic restriction, social distancing, lockdowns were the effective strategy against acquiring and spreading COVID-19 [5]
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