• Yong Joo Park, Kyoung Jun Song, Ki Jeong Hong, Jeong Ho Park, Tae Han Kim, Young Su Kim, and Seung Hyo Lee.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2023 Oct 30; 38 (42): e317e317.

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system in South Korea. The study focused on the differences in EMS time intervals following the COVID-19 outbreak, particularly for patients with fever.MethodsA retrospective analysis of EMS patient transportation data from 2017 to 2022 was conducted using the national EMS database.ResultsStarting from the year 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 outbreak, all EMS time intervals experienced an increase. For the years 2017 to 2022, the mean response time interval values were 8.6, 8.6, 8.6, 10.2, 12.8, and 11.4 minutes, and the mean scene time interval values were 7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 9.0, 9.8, and 10.9 minutes. The mean transport time interval (TTI) values were 12.1, 12.3, 12.4, 14.2, 16.9, and 16.2 minutes, and the mean turnaround time interval values were 27.6, 27.9, 28.7, 35.2, 42.0, and 43.1 minutes. Fever (≥ 37.5°C) patients experienced more pronounced prolongations in EMS time intervals compared to non-fever patients and had a higher probability of being non-transported. The mean differences in TTI between fever and non-fever patients were 0.8, 0.8, 0.8, 4.3, 4.8, and 3.2 minutes, respectively, from 2017 to 2022. Furthermore, the odds ratios for fever patients being transported to the emergency department were 2.7, 2.9, 2.8, 1.1, 0.8, and 0.7, respectively, from 2017 to 2022.ConclusionThe study findings highlight the significant impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the EMS system and emphasize the importance of ongoing monitoring to evaluate the burden on the EMS system.© 2023 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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