Published online Apr 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i10.2237
Peer-review started: October 20, 2022
First decision: December 26, 2022
Revised: January 3, 2023
Accepted: March 15, 2023
Article in press: March 15, 2023
Published online: April 6, 2023
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major and costly public health emergency.
To investigate the impact of China’s lockdown policies during the COVID-19 outbreak on the level I trauma center of a tertiary comprehensive hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
All patients admitted to our trauma center during a lockdown in 2020 and the same period in 2019 were enrolled. We collected data on demographics, daily visits, injury type, injury mechanism, injury severity score, and patient management for comparative analysis.
The total number of patients in the trauma center of our hospital decreased by 50.38% during the COVID-19 Lockdown in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The average number of trauma visits per day in 2019 was 47.94, compared to 23.79 in 2020. Comparing the patients’ demographic data, loss of employment was the most predominate characteristic in 2020 compared to 2019, while there was no significant difference in gender, age, and marital status between both periods. During the lockdown period, the proportion of traffic accident-related injuries, injuries due to falls greater than 1.5 m, and mechanical injuries decreased significantly, whereas the proportion of injuries caused by falls less than 1.5 m, cuts, assault, bites, and suicidal tendencies and other injuries increased relatively. In addition, the proportion of patients with minor injuries increased and serious injuries decreased during the lockdown. The hospitalization rate increased significantly, and there was no significant difference in emergency surgery and death rates.
The lockdown policies during the COVID-19 outbreak significantly altered the number and mechanism of traumatic events in our hospital, which can be monitored regularly. Our results suggest that mandatory public health prevention and control measures by the government can reduce the incidence of traumatic events and the severity of traumatic injuries. Emergency surgery and mortality rates remain high, increased because of factors such as family injury and penetrating injury, and hospitalization rates have increased significantly. Therefore, our trauma center still needs to be fully staffed. Finally, from the perspective of the injury mechanism, indoor trauma is a major risk during a lockdown, and it is particularly important to develop prevention strategies for such trauma to reduce the medical burden of the next catastrophic epidemic.
Core Tip: First of all, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the incidence of traumatic events in our city has been greatly reduced thanks to effective government control. In addition, from the perspective of injury mechanism, indoor trauma is a major risk during lockdown periods; therefore, it is particularly important to develop prevention strategies for such trauma to reduce the medical burden of the next catastrophic epidemic.