Evaluation of the ımpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on A university Hospital emergency department applications

Objective: In the study, it was planned to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency service applications and to contribute to the literature on how to plan emergency services more effectively, better quality and faster during similar epidemic periods. Method: The research was designed as a descriptive two-stage study in Trabzon, in which patient records and patient files were retrospectively scanned in the Karadeniz Technical University (KTU) Medical Faculty Health Practice and Research Center Farabi Hospital Emergency Department. The population of the study was determined by individuals aged 18 years and over, to the Emergency Service of KTU Medical Faculty Health Application and Research Center Farabi Hospital, between 15 March15 April 2020, 01 June-30 June 2020, 15 March-15 April 2019, 01-30 June 2019. The data for the early pandemic period were named as the first group, the data after the normalization period as the second group, and the data comparing the postnormalization period and the early pandemic period as the third group. SPSS 23 (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) program was used for data analysis. Results: While there was a decrease in emergency service admissions in the first and second groups, an increase was observed in the third group. Among the applications classified according to the triage system, a decrease was observed in the applications for green areas, which had less urgency during the pandemic period compared to the previous year. Considering the third group findings, there was an increase in green area applications. An increase was observed in admissions related to the diagnosis of psychiatric disease in all three groups. While an increase was observed in patients diagnosed with STEMI in the first two groups, a decrease was observed in patients diagnosed with STEMI in the third group. While it was observed that the interventional procedure decreased in the patients with NON-STEMI in the first group, it was found that it increased in the second and third groups. vi Conclusion: The decrease in green space applications during the pandemic process has shown that; Inappropriate emergency service applications can be prevented with effective training and correct guidance. A strong referral chain will also contribute to this situation. Applications of specialized patient groups were also affected during the pandemic period. Informing patients about such case symptoms and making adjustments to the 112 line may contribute to the correct selection of the specialized patient group. It may be beneficial to expand the scope of teleconferencing and home health services for effective follow-up of chronic patients. Making disaster plans specific to pandemic periods will be an important step for rapid coordination in these specialized processes. Key Words: COVID-19, stroke, STEMI