Impacto de la pandemia de la COVID-19 en la actividad de los servicios de urgencias de atención primaria: estudio comparativo entre periodos de 2019 y 2020

OBJECTIVE: To compare the care provided by primary care emergency services during the COVID19 lockdown (March-June 2020) and the same period in 2019. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study. SETTING: Basic Health Area of Granada. POPULATION: 10.790 emergency reports, 3.319 in 2020 and 7.471 in 2019. OUTCOMES: Age, sex, service, shifts, referrals, priority levels, care times, previous processes, and reasons for consultation. T-Student and Chi Square were used for continuous and categorical variables. Effect size (Cohen's d) and OR along with 95% CI were calculated. RESULTS: The patients attended by primary care emergency services decreased in 2020 compared to 2019, but the percentage of Priority V cases (p < 0.01), home discharges (p = 0.01) and hospital transfers (p < 0.01) increased, and referrals to family doctors (p < 0.01) decreased. In 2020, the percentage of emergencies at night (p < 0.01) and in low-income neighborhoods (p < 0.01) increased. Waiting time for classification decreased (p < 0.01), but total care time increased in 2020 (p < 0.01). The patients seen in 2020 were older (p < .001), and with a greater number of previous processes (p < 0.01), highlighting patients with anxiety, depression, or somatization (p < 0.01) and diabetes (p = 0.041). Consultations related to various symptoms of COVID19, mental health problems and chronic pathologies increased. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care emergency services offer additional advantages in situations such as the COVID19 pandemic, as they allow channeling part of the health demand.