Abstract
Background: We determined whether a decrease in healthcare utilization patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the treatment process of pediatric patients with intussusception. Methods: Patients with suspected intussusception who had ICD-10 code K561 as their discharge diagnosis from the national database were selected, and those who underwent either radiologic and/or surgical reduction were defined as true intussusception patients. We compared the time periods from patients visiting the ED to ultrasound, radiologic reduction and/or surgical reduction between the study group (first half of 2020, COVID-19 period) and the control groups (control group 1: first half of 2019, control group 2: second half of 2019). Results: The number of suspected intussusception patients in each group was 1223, 1576, and 624, and the incidence rates were 7.85, 11.30, and 4.19 per 100,000 person-half-years (control group 1, control group 2, study group, respectively, p < 0.05). No differences in terms of the time from the ED visit to ultrasound, radiological reduction and/or surgical reduction were noted between the study group and the control groups. Conclusions: In Korea, the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly affect the ED treatment process or the results of patients with intussusception.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major impact on societies, lives, economies, and healthcare systems around the world, in 2020 and to date
From Jan–Jun 2020, the total number of pediatric patients decreased by 42.1% (905,529 => 524,283)
This study shows that the total number of emergency departments (EDs) visits decreased compared to that before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number has decreased in pediatric patients at a higher rate than that noted in adults
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major impact on societies, lives, economies, and healthcare systems around the world, in 2020 and to date. There have been several reports of a decrease in the number of pediatric patients visiting emergency departments (EDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic [2,3]. In a study using data from one pediatric emergency center in Korea, it was reported that the number of intussusception patients visiting the emergency department decreased at the same time as infectious diseases after the COVID-19 epidemic [13]. We determined whether the COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on trends in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric patients with intussusception who required radiological reduction (RR) or surgical reduction (SR). We determined whether a decrease in healthcare utilization patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the treatment process of pediatric patients with intussusception
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