Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 29, 2025
Polar Histogram Visualization of Acute Stress Disorder Scale Scores for Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
Published on: December 6, 2024
Has COVID-19 affected the number and severity of visits to a traumatology emergency department?
Pedro L Esteban1, Jordi Querolt Coll1, Marina Xicola Martínez1
1Orthopaedic Department, Althaia, Xarxa Assistencial Universitária de Manresa, Manresa, Spain.
Aims:
To assess the impact of the declaration of the state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of visits to a traumatology emergency department (ED), and on their severity.
Methods:
Retrospective observational study. All visits to a traumatology ED were recorded, except for consultations for genitourinary, ocular and abdominal trauma and other ailments that did not have a musculoskeletal aetiology. Visit data were collected from March 14 to April 13 2020, and were subsequently compared with the visits recorded during the same periods in the previous two years.
Results:
The number of visits dropped from a mean of 3,212 in 2018 to 2019 to 445 in 2020. Triage 1 to 3 level visits rose from 21.6% in 2018 to 2019% to 40.4% in 2020, meaning a reduction in minor injury visits and an increase in major ones. There was a relative reduction of 13.2% in femoral fractures in the elderly. The rate of justified visits rose from 22.3% to 48.1%.
Conclusion:
A marked drop in the total number of visits to our traumatology ED was observed, as well as a relative increase in major injury visits and a relative fall in the minor ones.Cite this article: Bone Joint Open 2020;1-10:617-620.
