Paediatric prehospital emergencies and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study.
epidemiology
health services research
Journal
BMJ paediatrics open
ISSN: 2399-9772
Titre abrégé: BMJ Paediatr Open
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101715309
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2020
2020
Historique:
received:
20
07
2020
revised:
16
09
2020
accepted:
24
09
2020
entrez:
30
6
2021
pubmed:
1
7
2021
medline:
1
7
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Children are less vulnerable to serious forms of the COVID-19 disease. However, concerns have been raised about children being the second victims of the pandemic and its control measures. Therefore, we wanted to study if the pandemic, the infection control measures and their consequences to the society projected to paediatric prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) contacts. We conducted a population-based cohort study concerning all children aged 0-15 years with EMS contacts in the Helsinki University Hospital area during 1 March 2020-31 May 2020 (study period) and equivalent periods in 2017-2019 (control periods). We analysed the demographic characteristics, time of EMS contact, reason for EMS contact, priority of the dispatch, reason for transportation, priority of transportation, if any consultations were made or additional units required, any medication or oxygen or fluids given, if intubation was performed, and whether paramedics took precautions when COVID-19 infection was suspected. The number of paediatric EMS contacts decreased by 30.4% from mean of 1794 contacts to 1369 (p=0.003). The EMS contacts were more often due to trauma (+23.7%, p<0.05), dispatched in the most urgent category (+139.9%, p=0.001), additional help and the mobile intensive care unit were more frequently requested (+43.3%, p=0.040 and+46.3%, p=0.049, respectively). However, EMS contacts resulted less often in ambulance transport (-21.1%, p<0.001). Alarmingly, there were four deaths during the study period compared with 0-2 during the control periods. The number of EMS contacts decreased during the pandemic. Nevertheless, the children encountered by the EMS were more seriously ill than during the control periods.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Children are less vulnerable to serious forms of the COVID-19 disease. However, concerns have been raised about children being the second victims of the pandemic and its control measures. Therefore, we wanted to study if the pandemic, the infection control measures and their consequences to the society projected to paediatric prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) contacts.
METHODS
METHODS
We conducted a population-based cohort study concerning all children aged 0-15 years with EMS contacts in the Helsinki University Hospital area during 1 March 2020-31 May 2020 (study period) and equivalent periods in 2017-2019 (control periods). We analysed the demographic characteristics, time of EMS contact, reason for EMS contact, priority of the dispatch, reason for transportation, priority of transportation, if any consultations were made or additional units required, any medication or oxygen or fluids given, if intubation was performed, and whether paramedics took precautions when COVID-19 infection was suspected.
RESULTS
RESULTS
The number of paediatric EMS contacts decreased by 30.4% from mean of 1794 contacts to 1369 (p=0.003). The EMS contacts were more often due to trauma (+23.7%, p<0.05), dispatched in the most urgent category (+139.9%, p=0.001), additional help and the mobile intensive care unit were more frequently requested (+43.3%, p=0.040 and+46.3%, p=0.049, respectively). However, EMS contacts resulted less often in ambulance transport (-21.1%, p<0.001). Alarmingly, there were four deaths during the study period compared with 0-2 during the control periods.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The number of EMS contacts decreased during the pandemic. Nevertheless, the children encountered by the EMS were more seriously ill than during the control periods.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34192175
doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000808
pii: bmjpo-2020-000808
pmc: PMC7607513
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
e000808Informations de copyright
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Competing interests: None declared.
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