Table 1 Characteristics of patients visiting the surgical emergency department referral in the four different study time periods (A, first lockdown 1 March 2020 to 30 April 2020; B, 1 May 2020 to 15 June 2020, C, partial restrictions 15 September 2020 to 30 October 2020; D, second lockdown 16 October to 15 December 2020)
Time Period | A | p-value | B | p-value | C | p-value | D | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pandemic group vs control group (n, %) | ||||||||
Total ED patients | 421 vs 842 | 539 vs 610 | 495 vs 664 | 364 vs 723 | ||||
Men | 254 (60.3) vs 490 (58.2) | 0.48 | 294 (54.5) vs 365 (59.8) | 0.07 | 302 (61) vs 367 (55.2) | 0.05 | 220 (60.4) vs 387 (53.5) | 0.03 |
Women | 167 (39.7) vs 352 (41.8) | 0.46 | 245 (45.5) vs 245 (40.2) | 0.07 | 193 (39) vs 297 (44.8) | 0.05 | 144 (39.6) vs 336 (46.5) | 0.03 |
Ambulance use | 83 (19.7) vs 168 (19.9) | 0.92 | 100 (18.5) vs 116 (19) | 0.84 | 101 (20.4) vs 116 (17.5) | 0.2 | 66 (18.1) vs 134 (18.5) | 0.87 |
Fall injuries | 97 (23) vs 191 (22.7) | 0.86 | 87 (16.1) vs 115 (18.9) | 0.23 | 117 (23.6) vs 141 (21.2) | 0.33 | 104 (28.6) vs 162 (22.4) | 0.02 |
Minor injuries | 57 (13.5) vs 129 (15.3) | 0.51 | 78 (14.4) vs 94 (15.4) | 0.65 | 63 (12.7) vs 90 (13.5) | 0.68 | 51 (14) vs 102 (14.1) | 0.96 |
Motor vehicle accidents | 45 (10.7) vs 125 (14.8) | 0.04 | 87 (16.1) vs 101 (16.5) | 0.84 | 71 (14.3) vs 99 (14.9) | 0.78 | 51 (14) vs 100 (13.8) | 0.93 |
Abdominal pain | 69 (14) vs 104 (12.4) | 0.04 | 76 (14.1) vs 83 (13.6) | 0.81 | 66 (13.3) vs 84 (12.7) | 0.72 | 59 (16.2) vs 92 (12.7) | 0.11 |
Head injuries | 48 (11.4) vs 51 (6) | <0.001 | 50 (9.3) vs 44 (7.2) | 0.2 | 54 (10.9) vs 57 (8.6) | 0.18 | 31 (8.5) vs 57 (7.9) | 0.71 |
Torso injuries | 10 (2.4) vs 44 (5.2) | 0.01 | 36 (6.7) vs 27 (4.4) | 0.09 | 23 (4.6) vs 24 (3.6) | 0.37 | 11 (3) vs 33 (4.6) | 0.22 |
Perianal abscess | 25 (5.9) vs 48 (5.7) | 0.86 | 19 (3.5) vs 29 (4.8) | 0.29 | 26 (5.2) vs 25 (3.8) | 0.22 | 8 (2.2) vs 34 (4.7) | 0.04 |
Hernia | 4 (1) vs 19 (2.3) | 0.1 | 7 (1.3) vs 16 (2.6) | 0.1 | 8 (1.6) vs 33 (5) | 0.002 | 4 (1.1) vs 37 (5.1) | 0.002 |
Others | 36 (8.5) vs 75 (8.9) | 0.83 | 51 (9.5) vs 57 (9.3) | 0.94 | 42 (8.5) vs 79 (11.9) | 0.06 | 31 (8.5) vs 73 (10.1) | 0.4 |
Admissions | 32 (7.6) vs 31 (3.7) | 0.002 | 33 (6.1) vs 32 (5.2) | 0.64 | 21 (4.2) vs 42 (6.3) | 0.12 | 22 (6) vs 28 (3.9) | 0.1 |