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Changes in pediatric seizure-related emergency department attendances during COVID-19 - A territory-wide

Ting Gee Annie Chiu1, William C Y Leung2, Qiqi Zhang3

  • 1Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan Yi Zhi
|November 29, 2020
PubMed

Insights

COVID-19 pandemic measures significantly reduced pediatric emergency visits for seizures, especially in young children (0-6 years). Infection control strategies show promise in preventing seizures and related emergency department visits.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  • Public Health Policy

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic prompted widespread implementation of infection control measures.
  • Understanding the impact of these measures on non-COVID-19 related healthcare utilization is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess changes in pediatric seizure-related accident and emergency (A&E) department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong.
  • To compare these changes with pre-pandemic periods (2015-2019) and analyze age-specific trends.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective observational study using territory-wide data from Hong Kong.
  • Analysis of A&E attendances for pediatric seizure-related visits between January 23 and April 22, 2020.
  • Comparison with data from the same periods in 2015-2019.

Main Results:

  • A significant decrease in all-cause pediatric A&E attendances was observed during the study period.
  • Seizure-related A&E visits decreased significantly across all pediatric age groups (RR 0.379).
  • The 0-6 years age group showed a disproportionately larger decrease (RR 0.303) compared to the 7-18 years age group (RR 0.534).
  • Respiratory tract infection (RTI)-related A&E visits also decreased more drastically in the 0-6 years group.

Conclusions:

  • The findings suggest that infection control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic may have played a role in reducing pediatric seizure-related emergency visits.
  • The trend is particularly evident in younger children (0-6 years), indicating potential benefits of these measures for seizure prevention in this demographic.
  • The congruence of seizure and RTI trends in younger children supports the hypothesis that reduced transmission of infections contributed to fewer seizures.

Keywords:
COVID19EpilepsyFebrile seizuresMedical help seek-behaviourRespiratory tract infections

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