Changes in Emergency Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a University Hospital in Barcelona

Abstract

Purpose: To determinate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department (ED) attendance in 2020 compared to 2019, and to analyze the trend of this change across different waves. Methods: Descriptive study of ED visits (January 1st, 2019 – December 31st, 2020) at university hospital in Barcelona. The number of emergency cases was analyzed by age, sex, socioeconomic index, triage level, type of discharge, and diagnosis. Three periods were compared: pre-pandemic, first wave, and second wave with the corresponding periods in 2019. The Chi-square test compared proportions. Results: 84,826 episodes were analyzed. The number of emergencies decreased significantly during both waves, (41.09% and 27.60% respectively) affecting both sexes (p=0.439), all age groups (p<0.001) but in socioeconomic groups, no differences were found. Throughout 2020, non-urgent and less-urgent cases decreased (p <0.001). Visits related to ophthalmological-otorhinolaryngological, and musculoskeletal cases decreased (-41.97% and -36.09% respectively). Conversely, infectious, and parasitic diseases increased substantially (225.39%) due to COVID-19 cases. Conclusion: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reduced in ED attendance among both sexes, across all age and socioeconomic groups, irrespective of the type of pathology being treated.