ArticleCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2021
A population-based analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on common abdominal and gynecological emergency department visits.
Article in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- To Fight or to Flee? A Systematic Review of Ectopic Pregnancy Management and Complications During the Covid-19 Pandemic.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Pooled it
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- Article
- Public funding for private for-profit centres and access to cataract surgery by patient socioeconomic status: an Ontario population-based study.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2024Article
- Acute care pathway assessed through performance indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic in OECD countries (2020-2021): a scoping review.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Changes in emergency department use in British Columbia, Canada, during the first 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023Article
- Population-level trends in emergency general surgery presentations and mortality over time.The British journal of surgery · 2023Article
- Patients with appendicitis during COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2023Article
- A Population-Based Analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Solid Organ Transplantation in Ontario, Canada: Policy Response and Changes in Volume and 90-Day Outcomes.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternity services in Europe: a mixed methods systematic review protocol.JBI evidence synthesis · 2022Article
- Prepregnancy Emergency Department Use and Risks of Severe Maternal and Neonatal Morbidity in Canada.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Dental Service and Resource Needs during COVID-19 among Underserved Populations.JDR clinical and translational research · 2022Article
- Changes in ischemic stroke presentations, management and outcomes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta: a population study.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2022Article
- The Use of Cremation Data for Timely Mortality Surveillance During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario, Canada: Validation Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2022Article
- Trends in Health Service Use for Canadian Adults With Dementia and Parkinson Disease During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.JAMA health forum · 2022Article
- Evaluating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on New Cancer Diagnoses and Oncology Care in Manitoba.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2021Article
- Acute Mesenteric Vein Thrombosis in a Pregnant Patient at 10 Weeks Gestation: A Case Report.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Does COVID-19 infection change the need for future surgical interventions? An exploratory analysis.F1000Research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundReduced use of the emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic may result in increased disease acuity when patients do seek health care services. We sought to evaluate emergency department visits for common abdominal and gynecologic conditions before and at the beginning of the pandemic to determine whether changes in emergency department attendance had serious consequences for patients.
methodsWe conducted a population-based analysis using administrative data to evaluate the weekly rate of emergency department visits pre-COVID-19 (Jan. 1-Mar. 10, 2020) and during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (Mar. 11-June 30, 2020), compared with a historical control period (Jan. 1-July 1, 2019). All residents of Ontario, Canada, presenting to the emergency department with appendicitis, cholecystitis, ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage were included. We evaluated weekly incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of emergency department visits, management strategies and clinical outcomes.
resultsAcross all study periods, 39 691 emergency department visits met inclusion criteria (40.2 % appendicitis, 32.1% miscarriage, 21.3% cholecystitis, 6.4% ectopic pregnancy). Baseline characteristics of patients presenting to the emergency department did not vary across study periods. After an initial reduction in emergency department visits, presentations for cholecystitis and ectopic pregnancy quickly returned to expected levels. However, presentations for appendicitis and miscarriage showed sustained reductions (IRR 0.61-0.80), with 1087 and 984 fewer visits, respectively, after the start of the pandemic, relative to 2019. Management strategies, complications and mortality rates were similar across study periods for all conditions.
interpretationAlthough our study showed evidence of emergency department avoidance in Ontario during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, no adverse consequences were evident. Emergency care and outcomes for patients were similar before and during the pandemic.
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Registered trials
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