Analyzing Trends in the Incidence of Trauma and Mechanisms of Injury Before, During, and After COVID-19 Lockdown in a Staten Island Level 1 Trauma Center.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every branch of medical care. Our level 1 trauma center reported a decrease in the incidence of trauma during the initial months of the pandemic. In this follow-up study, we compared the incidence of trauma in our trauma center during the COVID-19 lockdown in New York City to both pre- and post-lockdown periods. Methodology A retrospective review was conducted among all adult patients who presented to the Emergency Department at Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island, from 2019 through 2023. Data were stratified by time, with strata being pre-lockdown, lockdown (March 2020 through June 2021), and post-lockdown. Mechanism of injury was categorized as either falls, non-fall accidents, traffic-related injuries, including pedestrians and cyclists, and all assaults, including gunshot wounds and stab wounds. Data were also categorized by trauma activation level (partial activation, full activation, consultation, or no activation). Analysis of variance was performed to compare the monthly average of the incidence of trauma during these time periods. Results With this more complete data, it was determined that while there was no difference in these time periods in the overall incidence of trauma, there was a significant difference in the incidence of assaults, stabbings, and gunshot wounds, with a significant increase in gunshot wounds during the lockdown period, along with a significant decrease in the incidence of these mechanisms in the post-lockdown period. Conclusions While previous data show an overall decrease in the incidence of trauma activations in the early days of the pandemic, this study shows a change in the pattern of mechanisms of injury. Our trauma center may expect and prepare for additional assaults and penetrating injuries during a future epidemic, leading to city-wide lockdown.