Incidence and Mortality of Emergency Patients Transported by Emergency Medical Service Personnel during the Novel Corona Virus Pandemic in Osaka Prefecture, Japan: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

Although the COVID-19 pandemic affects the emergency medical service (EMS) system, little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prognosis of emergency patients. This study aimed to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the EMS system and patient outcomes. We included patients transported by ambulance who were registered in a population-based registry of patients transported by ambulance. The endpoints of this study were the incident number of patients transported by ambulance each month and the number of deaths among these patients admitted to hospital each month. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using a Poisson regression model with the year 2019 as the reference were calculated. A total of 500,194 patients were transported in 2019, whereas 443,321 patients were transported in 2020, indicating a significant decrease in the number of emergency patients transported by ambulance (IRR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.88–0.89). The number of deaths of emergency patients admitted to hospital was 11,931 in 2019 and remained unchanged at 11,963 in 2020 (IRR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98–1.03). The incidence of emergency patients transported by ambulance decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but the mortality of emergency patients admitted to hospital did not change in this study.

Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on epidemiology, treatment, and outcome of major trauma in Japan in 2020: a retrospective observational nationwide registry‐based study

“…In contrast, reports in Japan showed that the overall number of suicide victims in Japan increased during the COVID‐19 pandemic, 8 , 9 , 10 and the time required to deliver prehospital care to victims of traffic accidents, which included mild‐to‐severe patients, did not change in the early stage of the COVID‐19 pandemic. 3 However, no reports examined the epidemiology, management, or mortality of major trauma patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Japan, and clarifying these points will be informative for suitable provision of emergency medical care when a new infectious disease pandemic occurs in the future.…”

Impact of COVID-19 on Hospital Admissions and Healthcare Quality Indicators in Non-COVID Patients: A Retrospective Study of the First COVID-19 Year in a University Hospital in Spain

“…Previous studies also found a drop in admissions for acute cardiovascular and nervous system diseases during the initial COVID peak [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 24 ]. The decrease was observed especially during the complete and partial lockdown periods, whereas these indicators increased during the de-escalation period.…”

“…During the first wave of the pandemic, various studies reported a decrease in emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions related to non-COVID conditions [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], and consultations in primary care [ 8 ]. Non-COVID respiratory diseases and cardiovascular emergencies seem to be the most affected conditions described to date [ 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], but there have also been reports of reductions in cerebrovascular and traumatology admissions [ 5 , 12 ].…”

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthcare Activity in the Regional Hospitals of Andalusia (Spain)

“…The impact of COVID-19 on the care activity of Hospital Emergency Departments (ED) has been studied in large hospitals in Paris (France), Tehran (Iran) and Osaka (Japan) [24][25][26]. However, no studies have been found where an intrahospital comparison has been performed, that is, showing the results of the care activity performed both in the ED and in other departments of the same hospital, comparing the year prior to the pandemic (2019) versus the year of the pandemic (2020).…”