i
Impact of the COVID-19pandemic on emergency department visits — United States, January 1, 2019–May 30, 2020
-
June 3, 2020
Details:
-
Personal Author:
-
Corporate Authors:CDC COVID-9 Response Team. Innovation, Technology, and Analytics Task Force. ; Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (U.S.)Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance. ; National Center for Environmental Health (U.S.)Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. ; Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (U.S.)Public Health Informatics Office. ; National Syndromic Surveillance Program (U.S.) Community of Practice.
-
Description:What is already known about this topic?: The National Syndromic Surveillance Program (U.S.) (NSSP) collects electronic health data in real time.
What is added by this report?: NSSP found that emergency department (ED) visits declined 42% during the early COVID-19 pandemic, from a mean of 2.1 million per week (March 31–April 27, 2019) to 1.2 million (March 29–April 25, 2020), with the steepest decreases in persons aged ≤14 years, females, and the Northeast. The proportion of infectious disease–related visits was four times higher during the early pandemic period.
What are the implications for public health practice?: To minimize SARS-CoV-2 Transmission risk and address public concerns about visiting the ED during the pandemic, CDC recommends continued use of virtual visits and triage help lines and adherence to CDC infection control guidance.
On March 13, 2020, the United States declared a national emergency to combat coronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As the number of persons hospitalized with COVID-19 increased, early reports from Austria (1), Hong Kong (2), Italy (3), and California (4) suggested sharp drops in the numbers of persons seeking emergency medical care for other reasons. To quantify the effect of COVID-19 on U.S. emergency department (ED) visits, CDC compared the volume of ED visits during four weeks early in the pandemic March 29–April 25, 2020 (weeks 14 to 17; the early pandemic period) to that during March 31–April 27, 2019 (the comparison period). During the early pandemic period, the total number of U.S. ED visits was 42% lower than during the same period a year earlier, with the largest declines in visits in persons aged ≤14 years, females, and the Northeast region. Health messages that reinforce the importance of immediately seeking care for symptoms of serious conditions, such as myocardial infarction, are needed. To minimize SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes COVID-19, Transmission risk and address public concerns about visiting the ED during the pandemic, CDC recommends continued use of virtual visits and triage help lines and adherence to CDC infection control guidance.
Suggested citation for this article: Hartnett KP, Kite-Powell A, DeVies J, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits — United States, January 1, 2019–May 30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 3 June 2020.
mm6923e1-H.pdf
-
Subjects:
-
Document Type:
-
Name as Subject:
-
Place as Subject:
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type: