Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on rates of emergency department utilization and hospital admission due to general surgery conditions

Background Recent literature reports a decrease in healthcare-seeking behaviours by adults during the Covid-19 pandemic. Given that emergency general surgery (GS) conditions are often associated with high morbidity and mortality if left untreated, the objective of this study was to describe and quantify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on rates of emergency department (ED) utilization and hospital admission due to GS conditions. Methods This cohort study involved the analysis of an institutional database and retrospective chart review. We identified adult patients presenting to the ED in a network of three teaching hospitals in Montreal, Canada during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic (March13-May13, 2020) and a control pre-pandemic period (March13-May13, 2019). Patients with GS conditions were included in the analysis. ED utilization rates, admission rates and 30-day outcomes were compared between the two periods using multivariate regression analysis. Results During the pandemic period, 258 patients presented to ED with a GS diagnosis compared to 351 patients pre-pandemically (adjusted rate ratio (aRR) 0.75; p < 0.001). Rate of hospital admission during the pandemic was also significantly lower (aRR = 0.77, p < 0.001). Patients had a significantly shorter ED stay during the pandemic (adjusted mean difference 5.0 h; p < 0.001). Rates of operative management during the pandemic were preserved compared to the pre-pandemic period. There were no differences in 30-day complications (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.46; p = 0.07), ED revisits (aOR 1.10; p = 0.66) and (re)admissions (aOR 1.42; p = 0.22) between the two periods. Conclusion There was a decrease in rates of ED utilization and hospital admissions due to GS conditions during the first wave of the Covid -19 pandemic; however, rates of operative management, complications and healthcare reutilization were unchanged. Although our findings are not generalizable to patients who did not seek healthcare, it was possible to successfully uphold institutional standards of care once patients presented to the ED.