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. 2020 Jul 7;324(1):96-99.
doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.9972.

Admissions to Veterans Affairs Hospitals for Emergency Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aaron Baum  1 , Mark D Schwartz  2
Affiliations

Admissions to Veterans Affairs Hospitals for Emergency Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aaron Baum et al. JAMA. .

Abstract

To assess the effect of COVID-19 on health care, this study compares admissions data from the Veterans Affairs system for overall admissions and for 6 common emergencies immediately before and for 6 weeks during the pandemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Baum reported receiving consulting fees from the American Board of Family Medicine outside the submitted work. Dr Schwartz reported being employed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Trends in the Number of Patients Admitted to Veterans Affairs Inpatient Facilities in 2019 and 2020
We used the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for the principal diagnosis. See the Methods section for codes. The 2482 admitted patients who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; 99% determined by nasopharyngeal swabs) were considered to have coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); their most common principal diagnoses included 614 for emergency use (ICD-10 U07.1, activated at the VA for COVID-19 on April 1, 2020); 474, ICD-10 code not listed; 344, viral pneumonia, not elsewhere classified (ICD-10 J12); 237, other sepsis (ICD-10 A41); and 168, respiratory failure, not elsewhere classified (ICD-10 J96).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. COVID-19 response plan—incident-specific annex to the VHA high consequence infection (HCI) base plan. Published March 23, 2020. Accessed May 12, 2020. https://www.va.gov/opa/docs/VHA_COVID_19_03232020_vF_1.pdf
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