Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33279331›Full record

Observational studyThe American journal of emergency medicine2021

Decreased hospital admissions through emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sara Nourazari, Samuel R Davis, Rachel Granovsky, Randolph Austin, Dean J Straff, Joshua W Joseph, Leon D Sanchez

Open access · hybridAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in The American journal of emergency medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
93citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
9.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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

93 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 165 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Inpatient Cancer Treatment and Outcomes in the United States.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2026
    Article
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  9. Significant Increase inGastro hep advances · 2026
    Article
  10. SARS-CoV-2-International journal of microbiology · 2026
    Review
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33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Sara NourazariDepartment of Health Care Administration, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA. Electronic address: sara.nourazari@csulb.edu.
Samuel R DavisLogixHealth, Inc., Bedford, MA, USA.
Rachel GranovskyLogixHealth, Inc., Bedford, MA, USA.
Randolph AustinLogixHealth, Inc., Bedford, MA, USA.
Dean J StraffDepartment of Emergency Medicine, White Plains Hospital, White Plains, NY, USA.
Joshua W JosephDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Leon D SanchezDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center · USCalifornia State University, Long Beach · USHarvard University · USWhite Plains Hospital · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

objectiveEmergency Department (ED) visits decreased significantly in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. A troubling proportion of this decrease was among patients who typically would have been admitted to the hospital, suggesting substantial deferment of care. We sought to describe and characterize the impact of COVID-19 on hospital admissions through EDs, with a specific focus on diagnosis group, age, gender, and insurance coverage.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective, observational study of aggregated third-party, anonymized ED patient data. This data included 501,369 patient visits from twelve EDs in Massachusetts from 1/1/2019-9/9/2019, and 1/1/2020-9/8/2020. We analyzed the total arrivals and hospital admissions and calculated confidence intervals for the change in admissions for each characteristic. We then developed a Poisson regression model to estimate the relative contribution of each characteristic to the decrease in admissions after the statewide lockdown, corresponding to weeks 11 through 36 (3/11/2020-9/8/2020).

resultsWe observed a 32% decrease in admissions during weeks 11 to 36 in 2020, with significant decreases in admissions for chronic respiratory conditions and non-orthopedic needs. Decreases were particularly acute among women and children, as well as patients with Medicare or without insurance. The most common diagnosis during this time was SARS-CoV-2.

conclusionOur findings demonstrate decreased hospital admissions through EDs during the pandemic and suggest that several patient populations may have deferred necessary care. Further research is needed to determine the clinical and operational consequences of this delay.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overChildChild, PreschoolCOVID-19Diagnosis-Related GroupsEmergency Service, HospitalFacilities and Services UtilizationFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleMassachusettsCare defermentCOVID-19Emergency departmentHospital admissions

Identifiers

PMID33279331
PMCPMC7676321
OpenAlexW3102085469

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.