Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33148454›Full record

ArticleHealth policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands)2020

When fear backfires: Emergency department accesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emirena Garrafa, Rosella Levaggi, Raffaele Miniaci, Ciro Paolillo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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  7. Rising out-of-hospital mortality in Canada during 2020‒2022: A striking impact observed among young adults.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Emirena GarrafaDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy; Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, ASST Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
Rosella LevaggiDepartment of Economics and Management, University of Brescia, Italy. Electronic address: rosella.levaggi@unibs.it.
Raffaele MiniaciDepartment of Economics and Management, University of Brescia, Italy.
Ciro PaolilloEmergency Department, Spedali Civili University Hospital, Brescia, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe increase in access to Emergency Departments (ED) worldwide causes inefficiencies, but also signals its importance. The Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak allows to study the reactions of patients to the news about the spreading of the infection, which may have generated the fear that ED was no longer safe.

methodsWe study access to ED of a large teaching hospital in Brescia - one of the most hit provinces in Italy by Covid-19 - during the pandemic (from the announcement of the first cases to the explosion of the pandemic, to months after end of the acute phase) to study how patients reacted to the news that ED could no longer be a safe place. We analyse triage code, mode of arrival to ED, and accesses related to chest and abdominal pain, to evaluate who was discouraged most.

resultsAccesses have drastically reduced immediately after the news of the first contagion. During the lockdown accesses and admissions to hospital ward have decreased; this may mean that some patients may have suffered reduced health or increased mortality risks because of this decision. At the end of June accesses to ED and admissions to hospital ward are still lower than usual. DISCUSSION: Fear of contagion and appeals not to use ED directly by Covid-19 patients may have discouraged access also for pressing health need.

Indexed as

FearPandemicsAbdominal PainChest PainCOVID-19Emergency Service, HospitalFemaleHospitalizationHumansItalyMaleTriageCovid-19 pandemicED accessesFearHospital reactionPatients behaviour

Identifiers

PMID33148454
PMCPMC7584647

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.