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Prevalence, Causes, and Adverse Clinical Impact of Delayed Presentation of Non-COVID-19-Related Emergencies during

Mohammed S Alshahrani1,2, Dunya Alfaraj3, Jehan AlHumaid4

  • 1Emergency Medicine and Intensive Care Departments, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|August 26, 2022
PubMed

Insights

During the COVID-19 pandemic, over half of emergency patients with non-COVID-19 conditions experienced delayed hospital visits. This delay, often due to fear of infection or restrictions, significantly increased mortality rates.

Area of Science:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Public Health
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted global healthcare, leading to reduced emergency department visits for non-COVID-19 conditions.
  • Delayed hospital presentations can negatively impact patient outcomes in acute medical and surgical emergencies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the presentation and outcomes of patients with non-COVID-19-related acute emergencies.
  • To identify the prevalence, causes, and clinical outcomes associated with delayed emergency department presentation during the pandemic.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative study involving non-COVID-19 patients hospitalized through emergency departments in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain during June-July 2020.
  • Patients were categorized into delayed (≥24 hours symptom onset) and non-delayed (<24 hours) groups.
  • Outcomes included prevalence of delay, reasons for delay, and 28-day clinical outcomes (mortality, ICU admission, ventilation, surgery).

Main Results:

  • A total of 256 non-COVID-19 patients were analyzed; 52% presented with delayed symptoms.
  • Fear of COVID-19 (34%) and curfew restrictions (19%) were primary reasons for delay.
  • Delayed presentation was associated with significantly higher 28-day mortality (10.4% vs. 2.5%, OR 4.628, p=0.038).

Conclusions:

  • Over half of hospitalized patients with non-COVID-19 emergencies experienced delayed presentation during the pandemic.
  • Delayed presentation significantly increased the risk of mortality.
  • Fear of contracting COVID-19 and pandemic-related restrictions were major contributors to delayed healthcare seeking.

Keywords:
delayed presentationemergency departmentnon-COVID-19 emergencies

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