Gastrointestinal emergency care during the COVID-19 pandemic: rapid communication

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a decrease in the search for medical care. High-risk patients have avoided hospital environments fearing infection. We hypothesize that there was also a decrease in the search for medical care related to gastrointestinal emergencies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of consultations for severe gastrointestinal emergencies during and before the months of the pandemic.

This was a transversal study. The inclusion criteria were cases of consultation in the emergency department for gastrointestinal diseases that required hospitalization, from January to April, from 2015 to 2020. The pediatric population (under age 12) was excluded.

A total of 2,457 cases of cases was included. The number of emergency hospitalizations for gastrointestinal cases decreased during the first four months of 2020: 108, 112, 82, and 77, respectively. Comparing April of 2020 with previous years, there was a lower than expected number of cases during the social distancing period (P=0.002).

This study reports a pronounced decrease in consultations for severe gastrointestinal emergencies during the pandemic. Governments and society should be aware that health crises do not halt the natural occurrence of noninfectious diseases; otherwise, an increase in mortality from these morbidities may arise.