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[Consequences of the lockdown during the first COVID-19 wave in 34 pediatric practices in Saarland]
Karsten Theiß1, Arne Simon2, Norbert Graf2
1Kinder- und Jugendarztpraxis Theiß, Oststraße 68, 66386 St. Ingbert, Deutschland.
Insights
Pediatric practices in Saarland saw fewer overall cases during COVID-19 lockdowns, but preventive care and specialized consultations recovered. Reduced respiratory infections may be linked to SARS-CoV-2 prevention measures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Public health
- Epidemiology
Context:
- Saarland experienced high COVID-19 rates during the first wave.
- Pediatric practices are key for addressing parental concerns about COVID-19.
- Lockdowns potentially impacted routine pediatric care, including check-ups and vaccinations.
Purpose:
- To assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on ambulatory pediatric care in Saarland.
- To analyze changes in general consultations, early preventive care, and specialized medical services.
Summary:
- A study evaluated case numbers from 34 Saarland pediatric practices (64% response rate) for weeks 2-26 in 2019 and 2020.
- During lockdown, overall cases dropped by 37%, early diagnosis by 9.4%, and specialized care by 35%.
- Post-lockdown, overall cases decreased by 17.1% compared to 2019, while early diagnosis and specialized care showed catch-up effects of +9.4% and +7% respectively.
Impact:
- Ambulatory pediatric care in Saarland mitigated lockdown-related collateral damage to preventive services.
- Post-lockdown, essential pediatric services recovered, with some exceeding previous levels.
- Reduced overall case numbers may be attributed to the impact of SARS-CoV-2 prevention measures on other respiratory infections.
Background:
In the first COVID-19 pandemic wave Saarland was one of the most affected federal states. Pediatric practices are the primary point of contact regarding questions about risk factors, symptoms and suspicion of illness. The lockdown could have a severe impact on overall number of consultancies, preventive medical check-ups and vaccinations.
Objective:
The impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns in Saarland regarding patient care in the ambulatory pediatric setting and general consultation, early preventive consultancy as well as specialized medical care.
Material And Methods:
All 53 pediatric practices in Saarland were asked to report their case numbers for calendar weeks 2-26 in 2019 and 2020. These data were analyzed via descriptive statistics.
Results:
Data from 34 (64%) of Saarland's pediatric practices were evaluated. There was a decline of -37% regarding overall cases during lockdown, -9.4% of early diagnosis cases and -35% regarding specialized medical consultancy (4 specialized practices). After lockdown the overall case numbers were significantly reduced with -17.1% in comparison to 2019, the early diagnosis cases caught up nearly completely with +9.4% and also the specialized care showed catch-up effects with +7%.
Conclusion:
Lockdown-related collateral damage regarding preventive performances/activities could be avoided in the ambulatory pediatric setting in Saarland. Cancelled/postponed activities caught up during the observation period.During the observation period, the overall case numbers remained lower than 2019. The reason could be the contribution of SARS-CoV‑2 prevention measures to significantly reduce other respiratory infections.
