Observational studyPloS one2026
Emergency department visits and disease patterns during and after the COVID-19 lockdown.
Observational study in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in healthcare systems worldwide, particularly in emergency department (ED) utilization. While much research has focused on pre-pandemic and lockdown periods, most published evidence comes from high-income settings, with fewer studies from LMICs examining the post-lockdown ED trends and diagnostic patterns.
aimThis study analyzed variations in patient volumes and shifts in disease patterns among both adult and pediatric patients presenting to the ED during and after the COVID-19 lockdown at a tertiary care center in Lebanon.
methodsA retrospective observational study was conducted using administrative data from the ED of a tertiary care medical center in Beirut, Lebanon. The study focused on adult and pediatric patients admitted between February 29, 2020, and April 14, 2022, and included a total of 69,870 patients, of whom 21.2% were pediatric cases.
resultsThe average age of patients decreased significantly post-lockdown (41.7 ± 24.9 vs. 37.7 ± 25.7 years, p-value <0.001), driven by a rise in pediatric visits (from 17.4% to 23.9%, p-value <0.001) demonstrating a catch-up effect. Adult volumes recovered more slowly throughout the post-lockdown period. Pediatric visits for respiratory tracts infections, COVID-19, and ear diseases surged post-lockdown (increases ranging from 303% to 355%). Adult patients showed decreases in COVID-19 and pregnancy-related visits and significant increases in injury, poisoning, digestive system diseases, and other viral infections. Post-lockdown, ED visits shifted toward lower acuity, with reduced admission rates and a slight decrease in length of stay.
conclusionAfter the COVID-19 containment period, ED visits significantly increased, especially in the pediatric age group, while adult volumes recovered more slowly with distinct diagnostic shifts. These patterns in ED visits during the pandemic highlight the need for continuous ED surveillance and flexible, adaptive healthcare strategies that can rapidly scale services and adjust staffing to meet the evolving demands of both pediatric and adult populations during and after public health emergencies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.