Traumatic Brain Injury during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Emergency departments (EDs) are eerily quiet for illnesses apart from COVID-19. In this short communication, we assessed the effect of COVID-19 on ED attendance rates for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Data were collected from all consecutive patients with TBI attending our hospital (Haaglanden Medical Center, The Hague, The Netherlands) during the first 3 weeks of the Dutch lockdown (from March 18 to April 6) and for the same period last year. We observed a 36% decrease in ED attendance for TBI since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (91 vs. 143). Patients who presented during the lockdown were significantly older compared with the patients who visited the ED in the previous year (72 vs. 57, p = 0.01). No other significant differences were found.