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. 2023 Nov;89(11):4262-4270.
doi: 10.1177/00031348211047497. Epub 2021 Nov 16.

Trauma Visits to a Pediatric Emergency Department During the COVID-19 Quarantine and "Stay at Home" Period

Usha Sethuraman  1   2 , Nirupama Kannikeswaran  1   2 , Adam Singer  1   2 , Carolyn B Krouse  3 , Dawn Cloutier  3 , Ahmad Farooqi  1   2 , Lydia Donoghue  3   4 , Curt Stankovic  1   2
Affiliations

Trauma Visits to a Pediatric Emergency Department During the COVID-19 Quarantine and "Stay at Home" Period

Usha Sethuraman et al. Am Surg. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Impact of social distancing on pediatric injuries is unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively compared injury visits to a pediatric emergency department by individuals ≤21 years during "Stay at Home" (SHO) period to the same period in 2019 (non-SHO). Demographics, types, and outcomes of injuries were noted.

Results: Although, there was a 35.6% reduction in trauma-related emergency department visits during SHO period (1226 vs 1904), the proportion of injury visits increased (15.5% vs 8.1%, P < .001) and mean age was lower (5.8 yrs ±4.5 vs 8.4 yrs ± 5.2, P < .001). There were significant increases in visits related to child physical abuse (CPA), firearms, and dog bites. Further, significant increases in trauma alerts (P < .01), injury severity (P < .01), critical care admissions (P < .001), and deaths (P < .01) occurred during the SHO period.

Conclusions: Although overall trauma-related visits decreased during SHO, the proportion of these visits and their severity increased. Trauma visits related to child physical abuse, dog bites, and firearms increased. Further studies are required to assess the long-term impact of pandemic on pediatric trauma epidemiology.

Keywords: child abuse; pediatrics; quarantine; trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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