• J Formos Med Assoc · Feb 2023

    The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic and national public restrictions on Pediatric Intensive Care Units in Taiwan.

    • Jeng-Hung Wu, Ching-Chia Wang, Frank Leigh Lu, Shu-Chien Huang, Yueh-Ping Liu, Chun-Yi Lu, Luan-Yin Chang, and En-Ting Wu.
    • Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Children's Hospital and College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
    • J Formos Med Assoc. 2023 Feb 1; 122 (2): 113120113-120.

    Background/PurposeCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic challenges pediatric health globally by limited medical accessibility. In response to COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan, public restrictions were applied and the Level 3 alert was announced from May to July in 2021 for local outbreak. This study aims to analyze patients' clinical features and outcomes in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) during the COVID-19 epidemic with the Level 3 alert in Taiwan.MethodsMedical records were retrospectively collected in patients admitted to the PICU of National Taiwan University Children's Hospital from May to July 2021 (Level 3 alert) and May to July 2019 and 2020 (control periods). Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between patients in the period with the Level 3 alert and control periods.ResultsDuring the study period, PICU monthly admissions significantly decreased in the Level 3 alert period and were negatively correlated with monthly newly confirmed COVID-19 cases. Patients admitted during the Level 3 alert were older, had higher disease severity, lower proportion of cardiovascular disease, and higher proportion of hematology-oncology diseases than those in the control group. After adjusting for the above factors, admission during Level 3 alert was an independent factor for higher mortality rate and prolonged length of stay (>14 days) in the PICU.ConclusionDuring the COVID-19 epidemic with strict public restrictions, critically ill patients admitted to the PICU decreased but had increased disease severity, prolonged length of stay in the PICU, and higher mortality, reflecting the impact of quarantine and limited medical access.Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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