The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on admission to gynecological emergency departments: Results from a multicenter Italian study

Grandi G

;Del Savio MC;Caroli M;Capobianco G;Dessole F;Tupponi G;Petrillo M;Succu C;Paoletti AM;Facchinetti F

2020-01-01

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Abstract

Objective To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on admissions to gynecological emergency departments (ED) of three Italian university hospitals with different rates of COVID-19 incidence. Methods A retrospective study was conducted in the gynecological EDs of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), Sassari and Cagliari (Sardinia) regarding all admissions to gynecological EDs during November 1 to 30, 2019, and March 11 to April 9, 2020 (lockdown period). Results A total of 691 women (mean age 38.3 +/- 14.3 years) who were admitted to the gynecological EDs were included. The relative decrease in women evaluated from March 11 to April 9, 2020, was -56.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 52.2-61.1). Time spent in the ED was also significantly shorter during this period (P=0.02) in comparison to November 1 to 30, 2019. The most evident decrease was observed for pelvic pain (-68.9% [95% CI 60.3-76.7]; -91 cases). The management of women suggests a more effective use of the ED, with higher rates of hospitalization (P=0.001) and recourse to emergent surgeries (P=0.005) and lower rates of discharge to home (P=0.03). Conclusion The COVID-19 lockdown greatly reduced the rate of admission to gynecological EDs, but the real emergencies were filtered from the more deferrable ones.