Abstract
Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the effects of COVID-19 and lockdown on OPD services. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at District Headquarter Hospital (DHQ) and Tehsil Headquarter (THQ) Hospitals of District Layyah. The data was collected from one DHQ hospital and six THQ hospitals. The OPD data of three years (the years 2018 to 2020) was extracted from District Health Information System (DHIS). Trends of outpatients’ flow during months of March and April of three years were taken. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. RESULTS: The COVID-19 pandemic was declared by World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, and all countries started lockdown nationwide which imposed a major impact on all areas of life. Fear of coronavirus spread and lockdown resulted in significant reduction in number of patients at outdoor services. In our study, we analyzed outdoor services of seven hospitals of district Layyah - one DHQ hospital and six THQ hospitals. Conclusion: Fear of coronavirus spread and lockdown resulted in significant reduction in number of patients at outdoor services.
Highlights
In December 2019, an increase in pneumonia cases of unknown etiology was first reported in Wuhan city of Hubei Province, China. (1) After one month, researchers separated a novel coronavirus other than the viruses which cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), avian flu, common flu, and other regular respiratory infections. (2,3) Later on, the novel coronavirus was named as severe acute respiratory syndrome – associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the following serious respiratory disorder as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
The COVID-19 pandemic was declared by World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, and all countries started lockdown nationwide which imposed a major impact on all areas of life
Fear of coronavirus spread and lockdown resulted in significant reduction in number of patients at outdoor services
Summary
In December 2019, an increase in pneumonia cases of unknown etiology was first reported in Wuhan city of Hubei Province, China. (1) After one month, researchers separated a novel coronavirus (nCov) other than the viruses which cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), avian flu, common flu, and other regular respiratory infections. (2,3) Later on, the novel coronavirus was named as severe acute respiratory syndrome – associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the following serious respiratory disorder as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). (2,3) Later on, the novel coronavirus was named as severe acute respiratory syndrome – associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the following serious respiratory disorder as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since its flare-up, China reacted rapidly and took proactive general wellbeing measures to battle against the infection by serious reconnaissance, epidemiological examinations, dynamic treatment of affirmed as well as suspected patients, and prevention of rapid transmission. The individuals' dread of COVID-19 due to its novel and quick transmission made them hesitant to go to open spots including clinical and dental medical clinics. (5) members of social welfare in China requested to the dental organizations to deal with emergency cases only while suspending all other general and elective dental treatments. The fear of COVID-19 spread might have reduced the general OPD visits. This study was conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on OPD services in Punjab, Pakistan
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