PropertyValue
?:abstract
  • BACKGROUND: A decline in hospitalization for cardiovascular events and catheter laboratory activation was reported for the United States and Italy during the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. We report on the deployment of emergency services for cardiovascular events in a defined region in western Germany during the government-imposed lock-down period. METHODS: We examined 5799 consecutive patients who were treated by emergency services for cardiovascular events during the Covid-19 pandemic (January 1 to April 30, 2020), and compared those to the corresponding time frame in 2019. Examining the emergency physicians’ records provided by nine locations in the area, we found a 20% overall decline in cardiovascular admissions. RESULTS: The greatest reduction could be seen immediately following the government-imposed social restrictions. This reduction was mainly driven by a reduction in discretionary admissions for dizziness/syncope (-53%), heart failure (-38%), exacerbated COPD (-28%) and unstable angina (-23%), while unavoidable admissions for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and stroke were unchanged. There was a greater decline in emergency admissions for patients ≥60 years. There was also a greater reduction in emergency admissions for those living in urban areas compared to suburban areas. CONCLUSIONS: During the Covid-19 pandemic, a significant decline in hospitalization for cardiovascular events was observed during the government-enforced shutdown in a predefined area in western Germany. This reduction in admissions was mainly driven by “discretionary” cardiovascular events (unstable angina, heart failure, exacerbated COPD and dizziness/syncope), but events in which admission was unavoidable (CPR, STEMI and stroke) did not change.
is ?:annotates of
?:creator
?:doi
  • 10.1371/journal.pone.0242653
?:doi
?:journal
  • PLoS_One
?:license
  • cc-by
?:pdf_json_files
  • document_parses/pdf_json/b19f1630238d8b0cf02964aef63c439390fb09a0.json
?:pmc_json_files
  • document_parses/pmc_json/PMC7678984.xml.json
?:pmcid
?:pmid
?:pmid
  • 33216804.0
?:publication_isRelatedTo_Disease
?:sha_id
?:source
  • Medline; PMC
?:title
  • Hospital admissions during Covid-19 lock-down in Germany: Differences in discretionary and unavoidable cardiovascular events
?:type
?:year
  • 2020-11-20

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