A Descriptive Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department Attendance and Visit Characteristics in Singapore

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the utilisation of Emergency Department (ED) services worldwide. This study aims to describe changes in attendance at a single ED and corresponding patient visit characteristics before during COVID-19 period. Methods: In single-centre retrospective cohort study, we used descriptive statistics compare attendance, demographics period (1 January–28 June 2020) its historical (2 January–30 2019). Results: mean decreased from 342 visits/day pre-COVID-19 297 was accompanied by decline presentations nearly every ICD-10-CM diagnosis category except for respiratory-related diseases. Notably, observed reductions visits critically ill patients severe We also noted shift case-mix ‘Non-fever’ cases ‘Fever’ cases, likely giving rise two distinct trough-to-peak patterns pre-Circuit Breaker Circuit Conclusions: revealed trends across different time periods. pandemic caused reduction attendances amongst with low-acuity conditions those highest priority emergency care. raises concern about treatment-seeking delays possible impact on health outcomes. downward trend presents learning opportunities crowd management planning post-COVID-19 era.