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. 2022 Aug 14;10(8):1540.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare10081540.

Changes in Emergency Department Case Severity and Length of Stay before and after COVID-19 Outbreak in Korea

Yong-Seok Kim  1 , In-Byung Kim  2 , Seon-Rye Kim  3 , Byung-Jun Cho  4
Affiliations

Changes in Emergency Department Case Severity and Length of Stay before and after COVID-19 Outbreak in Korea

Yong-Seok Kim et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Severe patients visited regional emergency centers more frequently during the COVID-19 period, and disposition status warranting admission to the intensive care unit or resulting in death was more common during the COVID-19 period. This study was conducted to compare the characteristics and severity of patients, and emergency department length of stay before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Subjects were 75,409 patients who visited the regional emergency medical center from 1 February 2019 to 19 January 2020 and from 1 February 2020 to 19 January 2021. Data was analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. The significance level was p < 0.05. The chi-square test and t-test were used for variables, and Cramer V was used for correlation. We found that the total number of patients visiting the emergency room decreased by 37.6% after COVID-19, but emergency department length of stay among severely ill patients increased by 203.7%. Additionally, the utilization rate of 119 ambulances and relatively more severe patients increased by 9.0% and by 2.1%. More studies about emergency department designs and operational programs should be conducted for better action not only during regular periods but also during periods of pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; emergency department length of stay; emergency medical system; severity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The difference in the emergency department length of stay (EDLOS) by severity before and after COVID-19 outbreak.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The difference in the emergency department length of stay (EDLOS) by main diagnosis before and after COVID-19 outbreak.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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