Influence of social distancing due to COVID-19 pandemic in number of emergency attendances and hospitalizations in pediatrics
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Abstract
Objective: To compare the number of attendances to pediatric emergencies and hospital admissions, considering a period time in which measures of social distancing were in course, with the same period in previous years to the pandemic. Methodology: Historical series of attendances in two pediatric emergencies and hospital admission between 16th March and 16th April 2020. Data were compared with the same period, in the two previous years, using analysis of variance (ANOVA). A p value 0.0001). Relative percentage of acute respiratory diseases and influenza-like illness was 36.7%, 36.5% and 29.2%, respectively, in 2018, 2019 and 2020 in Unit A; and 25.9%, 24.2% and 24.5%, respectively for the same years in the Unit B. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant reduction of attendances and hospitals admissions in the pediatric emergencies evaluated, being the results attributed to social distancing in the study period.
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