A Descriptive Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department Attendance and Visit Characteristics in Singapore

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the utilisation of Emergency Department (ED) services worldwide. This study aims to describe the changes in attendance at a single ED and corresponding patient visit characteristics before and during the COVID-19 period. Methods: In a single-centre retrospective cohort study, we used descriptive statistics to compare ED attendance, patient demographics and visit characteristics during the COVID-19 period (1 January–28 June 2020) and its corresponding historical period in 2019 (2 January–30 June 2019). Results: The mean ED attendance decreased from 342 visits/day in the pre-COVID-19 period to 297 visits/day in the COVID-19 period. This was accompanied by a decline in presentations in nearly every ICD-10-CM diagnosis category except for respiratory-related diseases. Notably, we observed reductions in visits by critically ill patients and severe disease presentations during the COVID-19 period. We also noted a shift in the ED patient case-mix from ‘Non-fever’ cases to ‘Fever’ cases, likely giving rise to two distinct trough-to-peak visit patterns during the pre-Circuit Breaker and Circuit Breaker period. Conclusions: This descriptive study revealed distinct ED visit trends across different time periods. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction in ED attendances amongst patients with low-acuity conditions and those with highest priority for emergency care. This raises concern about treatment-seeking delays and the possible impact on health outcomes. The downward trend in low-acuity presentations also presents learning opportunities for ED crowd management planning in a post-COVID-19 era.