• WaiAbraham K CAKCEmergency Medicine Unit, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Accident and Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China., WongCarlos K HCKHCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Fac, Janet Y H Wong, Xi Xiong, Owen C K Chu, Man S Wong, TsuiMatthew S HMSHAccident and Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China., and Timothy H Rainer.
• Emergency Medicine Unit, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Accident and Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
• Ann Emerg Med. 2022 Feb 1; 79 (2): 148-157.

Study ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate and characterize the scale and relationships of emergency department (ED) visits and excess mortality associated with the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the territory of Hong Kong.MethodsWe conducted a territory-wide, retrospective cohort study to compare ED visits and the related impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality. All ED visits at 18 public acute hospitals in Hong Kong between January 1 and August 31 of 2019 (n=1,426,259) and 2020 (n=1,035,562) were included. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality in the 28 days following an ED visit. The secondary outcomes were weekly number of ED visits and diagnosis-specific mortality.ResultsED visits decreased by 27.4%, from 1,426,259 in 2019 to 1,035,562 in 2020. Overall period mortality increased from 28,686 (2.0%) in 2019 to 29,737 (2.9%) in 2020. The adjusted odds ratio for 28-day, all-cause mortality in the pandemic period of 2020 relative to 2019 was 1.26 (95% confidence interval 1.24 to 1.28). Both sexes, age more than 45 years, all triage categories, all social classes, all ED visit periods, epilepsy (odds ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.20 to 2.07), lower respiratory tract infection, and airway disease had higher adjusted ORs for all-cause mortality.ConclusionA significant reduction in ED visits in the first 8 months of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in deaths certified in the ED. The government must make provisions to encourage patients with alarming symptoms, mental health conditions, and comorbidities to seek timely emergency care, regardless of the pandemic.Copyright © 2021 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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