• GonzálezIria SanlésIS0000-0003-4627-9476Department of Emergency Medicine, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, c/ Canyet, 08916, Badalona, Spain. iria.sanles.gonzalez@gmail.com., ValleHéctor AlonsoHA0000-0002-6070-8874Department of Emergency Medicine, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, Santander, Spain., Laura Grimal Abejez, MolasAnna CarreresAC0000-0002-2777-9304Department of Emergency Medicine, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, c/ Canyet, 08916, Badalona, Spain., Jéssica Alonso-Molero, Trinidad Dierssen-Sotos, and Inés Gómez-Acebo.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, c/ Canyet, 08916, Badalona, Spain. iria.sanles.gonzalez@gmail.com.
• Intern Emerg Med. 2023 Oct 1; 18 (7): 209321032093-2103.

AbstractThis study will describe trends in the use of emergency departments before and after the Spanish State of Alarm, especially in pathologies not directly related to this infection. A cross-sectional study was conducted of all visits to the emergency departments in two third-level hospitals in two Spanish communities during the Spanish State of Alarm, compared with the same period of the previous year. The variables collected included the day of the week, the time of the visit, the duration of the visit, the final destination of the patients (home, admission to a conventional hospitalization ward, admission to the intensive care unit, and death), and the diagnosis at discharge according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision. During the Spanish State of Alarm period, an overall decrease in care demand of 48% was observed, which reached 69.5% in pediatric emergency departments. We also saw a drop of between 20 and 30% in time-dependent pathologies (heart attack, stroke, sepsis, poisoning). The decrease in overall attendance in the emergency departments and absence of serious pathologies, such as time-dependent diseases, observed during the Spanish State of Alarm compared to the previous year highlights the need to strengthen the messages addressed to the population to encourage them to seek care without delay in case of alarming symptoms and reduce the high morbidity and mortality rate if the diagnosis is delayed.© 2023. The Author(s).

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