INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN EMERGENCY ATTENDANCE AND HOSPITALIZATIONS IN PEDIATRICS

Abstract

The aim of this article is to compare number of attendances to pediatric emergencies and hospital admissions, considering a period time in which measures of social distancing and restriction or urban mobility were in course, with the same period in previous years to the pandemic. We performed a case-series study in two pediatric emergencies and hospital admission between 16^th March and 16^th April 2020 (first month of social distancing in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil). Data were compared with the same period, in the two previous years, using Analysis of variance (ANOVA). A p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.  The number of attendances in the Unit A and B, respectively, were 6.579 and 1.538 in 2018; 5.750 and 1.430 in 2019 and 1.762 and 375 in 2020. The number of hospital admissions in the Unit A and B, respectively, were 823 and 199 in 2018; of 721 and 188 in 2019; and 325 and 135 in 2020. In both units, there was a statistically significant reduction of attendances and hospitals admissions when 2020 year was compared with the two previous years (p>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 the Unit A; and 25.9%, 24.2% and 24.5%, respectively for the same years, in the Unit B. We concluded that there was a statistically significant reduction of attendances and hospitals admissions in the pediatric emergencies evaluated, being the results attributed to social distancing and restriction of urban mobility during the period studied.