Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization and Coronavirus Disease in Daegu, Korea

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist on children's utilization of the emergency department (ED) in the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Thus, we aimed to examine ED utilization among pediatric patients and the impact of COVID-19 in one large city affected by the outbreak. METHODS: This retrospective study included data from six EDs in Daegu, Korea. We compared the demographic and clinical data of patients presenting to the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic (February 1st–June 30th 2020) with those of patients who visited the ED in this period during 2018 and 2019. RESULTS: Fewer patients, particularly children visited the EDs during the study period in 2020 than those in the previous (2018/2019) year period: the number of adult patient decreased by 46.4% and children by 76.9%. Although the number of patients increased from the lowest point of the decrease in March 2020, the number of pediatric patients visiting the ED remained less than half (45.2%) in June 2020 compared with that of previous years. The proportion of patients with severe conditions increased in adults, infants, and school-aged children, and consequently resulted in increased ambulance use and higher hospitalization rates. Fewer infants and young children but more school-aged children visited the ED with febrile illnesses in 2020 than in 2018/2019. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a substantial decrease in pediatric ED utilization. These findings can help reallocate human and material resources in the EDs during infectious disease outbreaks.