The Effects on the Number of Patients Visiting the Emergency Units: Comparison Study Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: The number of patients attending emergency departments (EDs) fell dramatically in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with similar periods in 2019 or 2018, and healthcare providers have had to adjust to this change. The aim of this study was to compare the number and type of patients attending a hospital emergency unit before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to avoid the impact of any difference on the community’s healthcare and on healthcare providers. METHODS: This study assessed differences in the numbers of patients attending the emergency department in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and then determined whether a particular patient type accounted for any such difference. An open-source data repository was accessed to collect the data targeting a private hospital in Riyadh city, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics and a paired t-test were used to verify the level of variations in the number of patients attending the emergency rooms. RESULTS: Results showed no statistically significant difference in the number of patients attending the emergency department between 2018 and 2019, while a noticeable drop was found in the number of patients attending the department between 2019 and 2020. CONCLUSION: The reduction in the number of patients attending the emergency department was found in some but not all patient types. These conclusion highlight variations in ED attendance of which hospital management should be aware so that action can be taken to avoid negative consequences.