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ABSTRACT: Background
Concern is growing about the negative consequences that response measures to the COVID-19 epidemic may have on the management of other medical conditions.Methods
A retrospective descriptive case-series study conducted at a large University-hospital in northern Italy, an area severely hit by the epidemic.Results
Between 23 February and 14 May 2020, 4160 (52%) COVID-19 and 3778 (48%) non-COVID-19 patients were hospitalized. COVID-19 admissions peaked in the second half of March, a period characterized by an extremely high mortality rate (27.4%). The number of admissions in 2020 was similar to 2019, but COVID-19 patients gradually occupied all available beds. Comparison between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 admissions in 2020 revealed significant differences concerning all age classes and gender. Specifically, COVID-19 patients were older, predominantly male, and exhibited more comorbidities. Overall, admissions for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in 2020 vs. 2019 dropped by approximately one third. Statistically significant reductions were observed for acute myocardial infarction (-78, -33.9%), cerebrovascular disease (-235, -41.5%), and cancer (-368, -31.9%). While the first two appeared equally distributed between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients, chronic NCDs were statistically significantly more frequent in the former, except cancer, which was less frequent in COVID-19 patients.Conclusions
Prevention of collateral damage to patients with other diseases should be an integral part of epidemic response plans. Prospective cohort studies are needed to understand the long-term impact.
SUBMITTER: Caminiti C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7924591 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Caminiti Caterina C Maglietta Giuseppe G Meschi Tiziana T Ticinesi Andrea A Silva Mario M Sverzellati Nicola N
Journal of clinical medicine 20210221 4
<h4>Background</h4>Concern is growing about the negative consequences that response measures to the COVID-19 epidemic may have on the management of other medical conditions.<h4>Methods</h4>A retrospective descriptive case-series study conducted at a large University-hospital in northern Italy, an area severely hit by the epidemic.<h4>Results</h4>Between 23 February and 14 May 2020, 4160 (52%) COVID-19 and 3778 (48%) non-COVID-19 patients were hospitalized. COVID-19 admissions peaked in the secon ...[more]