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. 2022 Apr 29;3(3):e12728.
doi: 10.1002/emp2.12728. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Evaluation of emergency department visits for mental health complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic

Dana L Sacco  1 , Marc A Probst  1 , Katharina Schultebraucks  1   2 , M Claire Greene  3 , Bernard P Chang  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of emergency department visits for mental health complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic

Dana L Sacco et al. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 6 million deaths worldwide as of March 2022. Adverse psychological effects on patients and the general public linked to the pandemic have been well documented.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of adult emergency department (ED) encounters with diagnoses of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes at a tertiary care hospital in New York City from March 15 through July 31, 2020 and compared it with ED encounters during the same time period in the previous 3 years (2017-2019). The relative risk (RR) of these diagnoses was calculated comparing a prepandemic sample to a pandemic sample, accounting for total volume of ED visits.

Results: A total of 2816 patient encounters met the inclusion criteria. The study period in 2020 had 31.5% lower overall ED volume seen during the same time period in the previous 3 years (27,874 vs average 40,716 ED encounters). The risk of presenting with anxiety during the study period in 2020 compared to prior 3 years was 1.40 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-1.63), for depression was 1.47 (95% CI 1.28-1.69), and for suicidal ideation was 1.05 (95% CI 0.90-1.23). There was an increase in admissions for depression during the pandemic period (15.2% increase, 95% CI 4.6%-25.7%).

Conclusion: There was a relative increase in patients presenting to the ED with complaints of anxiety and depression during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, while absolute numbers remained stable. Our results highlight the importance of acute care-based mental health resources and interventions to support patients during this pandemic.

Keywords: COVID‐19 pandemic; anxiety; depression; emergency department visits; mental health complaints; suicidal ideation.

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Conflict of interest statement

None to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The relative proportion of emergency department patients receiving a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, week‐to‐week, during the pandemic period in 2020 (including March 15–July 31), and during the same time period in the 3 preceding years (2017, 2018, and 2019). Proportions are expressed percentages
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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