| Property | Value |
|---|
|
?:abstract
|
-
INTRODUCTION: Social distancing measures and hospital preparations for the novel COVID-19 pandemic have been associated with a decline in elective and acute hospital encounters in March and April in several centres in different countries. Malta has one large acute general hospital, Mater Dei (MDH). This study retrospectively analysed these declines since soft lockdown commencing on the 13th March 2020 in a population-based study, the first of its kind. METHODS: Data was obtained as anonymised totals from MDH Clinical Performance Unit. Poisson regression was used to model the counts of weekly A&E attendances and hospital admissions. RESULTS: Outpatient attendances declined in March, stabilised in April 2020 and started to climb in May. April attendances fell to 18.8% in paediatrics and 23.4% in adults of the average of the previous January and February. A&E attendances showed the same pattern, down to 22.5% and all specialities registered a decline, paediatric > adult. Attendances dropped from circa 2600 to 588/month/100,000 population. These declines were abrupt after the second week of March. MDH admissions showed the same patterns, down from circa 1800 to 757/month/100,000 population. All declines were statistically significant. DISCUSSION: Many factors played a role in this unwilling experiment but the reduction in travel and physical human contact of all sorts (including school) contributed to a reduction in contagious diseases. Excess deaths of severely ill individuals who failed to go to hospital have yet to be formally quantified in Malta.
|
|
is
?:annotates
of
|
|
|
?:creator
|
|
|
?:doi
|
|
|
?:doi
|
-
10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.105250
|
|
?:journal
|
|
|
?:license
|
|
|
?:pdf_json_files
|
-
document_parses/pdf_json/2186237f1618c005562f197e9ceb131b4f56fb3e.json; document_parses/pdf_json/62210d147bbc8b500224520ad4dde72aead8a159.json
|
|
?:pmc_json_files
|
-
document_parses/pmc_json/PMC7660966.xml.json
|
|
?:pmcid
|
|
|
?:pmid
|
|
|
?:pmid
|
|
|
?:publication_isRelatedTo_Disease
|
|
|
is
?:relation_isRelatedTo_publication
of
|
|
|
?:sha_id
|
|
|
?:source
|
|
|
?:title
|
-
Sharp decline in acute and elective hospital attendances and admissions due to COVID-19 in Malta (Q1 2020) - A population-based study
|
|
?:type
|
|
|
?:year
|
|
![[This page as RDF]](https://research.tib.eu/covid-19/static/rdf-icon.gif){kind=icon}