Citation

Caballero-Bermejo AF, Ortega-Pérez J, Frontera-Juan G, Homar-Amengual C, Barceló-Martín B, Puiguriguer-Ferrando J. Rev. Clin. Esp. (Barc.) 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.rceng.2022.02.004

PMID

35570179

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global changes that affect the daily life of the world's population, with a direct impact on individuals' physical and mental health as well as on their social and recreational habits.

METHODS: This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients attended to for acute poisoning in a hospital emergency department (ED) at three different periods of time: pre-pandemic (2019), after strict lockdown of the population in Spain (2020), and post-pandemic (2021). We analyzed 2 months (June and July) in each period.

RESULTS: A total of 1,182 cases of acute poisoning were included. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, during lockdown, the number of patients with acute poisoning decreased (2019: 1.9% vs. 2020: 1.5%; p < 0.01); the ratio of men to women increased (2.0 vs. 1.4; p = 0.02); and the mean age of patients increased (2019: 31.4 vs. 2020: 41.3; p < 0.001), a trend which continued in 2021 (38.3). Poisoning with suicidal intention also increased during the pandemic (2019: 8.71% vs. 2020: 21.0%; p < 0.01) whereas poisonings with a recreational intention declined (2019: 76.1% vs. 2020: 62.0%; p < 0.01) with a non-significant increase in 2021 (69.0%, p = 0.07).

CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic generated clinical and epidemiological changes in the acute poisonings attended to in a hospital emergency department during the various phases of the pandemic.

Language: en

Keywords

COVID-19; Emergency department; Acute poisoning; Cambios clínicos; Cambios epidemiológicos; Clinical patterns; Epidemiological patterns; Intoxicaciones agudas; Servicio de Urgencias