J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2022 Feb;33(1):60-68.

Analysis of patient clinical characteristics visiting single regional emergency department in COVID-19 pandemic era: a before-and-after observational study

• Choi J
• Jung H
• Ahn JY
• Ryoo HW
• Moon S
• Cho JW
• Seo KS
• Park J

Abstract

Objective
This study aimed at analyzing the clinical characteristics of patients visiting the emergency department (ED) and pre-triage clinic during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic era in Daegu, South Korea.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective observational study by using the medical records of patients who visited the ED and pre-triage clinic from February 22 to March 31, 2020 and comparing them with the corresponding period in 2019.
Results
The number of patients visiting the ED per day decreased from 122 (115-138) to 77 (66-93). The percentage of patients with respiratory infection increased from 6.6% to 15.4% (P<0.001). The length of the ED stay increased from 269 (150-562) to 559 (293-941) minutes, especially in patients with fever (P<0.001). The rate of injured and less urgent patients decreased from 24.7 to 13.2 and 53.4% to 50.2%, respectively (P<0.001). Sixty-one-point nine percent of patients visiting the ED were triaged and discharged at the pre-triage clinic without entering the ED.
Conclusion
In the COVID-19 pandemic era, there was an increase in the proportion of patients with fever and respiratory symptoms and a decrease in the proportion of injured patients. At the pre-triage clinic, a significant number of patients with suspected COVID-19 or less urgent conditions were treated and discharged without their having to enter the ED.

Keyword

Triage; COVID-19; Emergency department