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Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on hospital admissions for epistaxis in Germany
Adrian Hoenle1, Martin Wagner2, Stephan Lorenz3
1Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, Head and Neck Surgery, Marienhospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart 70199, Germany. adrian.hoenle@gmx.net.
Insights
The COVID-19 lockdown significantly reduced hospital admissions for younger epistaxis patients, but numbers rebounded post-lockdown. Elderly patients showed no significant change in epistaxis admissions during the lockdown period.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns, raising concerns about delayed medical care for non-COVID-19 conditions.
- Epistaxis (nosebleeds) is a common condition requiring hospital admission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on hospital admissions for epistaxis in Germany.
- To assess changes in epistaxis admissions before, during, and after the lockdown period.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of the German national Hospital Remuneration System database (2019-2022).
- Weekly comparison of epistaxis admissions, using the lockdown period as a reference.
- Interrupted Time Series analysis was employed.
Main Results:
- A significant overall reduction in epistaxis hospital admissions was observed during the lockdown (P < 0.05).
- The reduction was most pronounced in younger adults (0-39 years, P < 0.001).
- No significant change in admissions was noted for patients aged 80+; admissions surged post-lockdown, especially in younger groups (P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Younger patients with epistaxis likely avoided hospital admission during lockdown due to COVID-19 fears.
- The severity of epistaxis in elderly patients was not underestimated during the pandemic.
- The study highlights the impact of public health crises on healthcare utilization for common conditions.
Background:
Reports of a decrease in hospital admissions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown period have raised concerns about delayed or missed diagnoses and treatments for non-COVID-19-related illnesses.
Aim:
To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown and its end on hospital admissions of patients with epistaxis in Germany.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis based on the national database of the Hospital Remuneration System was used to compare hospital admissions during defined time periods between 2019 and 2022 with the lockdown period as the reference period. This was done on a weekly basis before, during, and after the lockdown. An Interrupted Time Series was used as the analysis method.
Results:
In our analysis, we included 26183 patients. The implementation of the lockdown led to a substantial reduction in the overall occurrence of epistaxis among patients (P < 0.05). This effect was most pronounced in the age group of 0-39 years, where the decrease was highly significant (P < 0.001). However, there was no change observed in patients aged 80 years and older (not significant). With the end of the lockdown period, the overall number of patients, especially in the youngest age group, increased abruptly and significantly (P < 0.01).
Conclusion:
During the lockdown period, there was a decrease in hospital admissions for younger patients with epistaxis, possibly due to the fear of COVID-19 exposure. We also conclude that the severity of epistaxis was not underestimated in the elderly during the pandemic.
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