Retrospective analysis of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic process on emergency service patient admissions

This research has been planned to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is the most important and current event of today, on emergency services. A total of 190338 patients who applied to Bursa Uludağ University Medical Faculty Emergency Service between 11.03.2019-31.12.2019 and 11.03.2020-31.12.2020 were included in the study. The starting date was 11.03.2020, when the first COVID-19 case was seen in Turkey, and compared with the same months of the previous year. During the pandemic, applications to the pandemic area in the emergency department were not included in the study, and all patients who were treated in the triage, intervention, observation, trauma and small surgery rooms of the emergency department were included. Age, gender, admission date, way of coming to the emergency department (self, ambulance), termination form (discharge, hospitalization, referral, exitus, refusal of treatment), admission time (weekday, weekend) and ICD diagnosis codes have been saved. These variables were analyzed in comparison before the pandemic and during the pandemic period. During the pandemic period, it was found that the percentage of men in emergency department admissions and the median age were significantly higher. In addition, during the pandemic period, the percentage of admission to the emergency department by ambulance, hospitalization and weekdays were found to be significantly higher. While there was a significant decrease in the percentage of upper and lower respiratory tract diseases and neurological emergencies during the pandemic period, a significant increase was detected in the percentage of general body trauma, extremity trauma, cardiac emergencies, cardiovascular emergencies, psychiatric emergencies, obstetric and gynecological emergencies. Numerically, there was only an increase in extremity trauma and cardiovascular emergencies. As a result, the pandemic has seriously changed the admissions to emergency services due to diseases other than COVID-19.