Table 2 Chief complaints of total emergency department visits by older adult patients between two time periods
Chief Complaints | Pre-pandemic (Jan 2019–Apr 2019) N = 9,300 (Incidence) | Pandemic (Jan 2020–Apr 2020) N = 7,355 (Incidence) | Difference (%) | Incidence rate ratio (%) | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Infection-related complaints | |||||||
Fever | 1,018 (10.95) | 905 (12.30) | -11.10 | 1.12 | 0.02 | ||
URI | 685 (7.37) | 670 (9.11) | -2.19 | 1.23 | 0.72 | ||
Cellulitis | 204 (2.19) | 155 (2.11) | -24.02 | 0.96 | 0.01 | ||
Gastrointestinal complaints | |||||||
Abdominal pain | 921 (9.90) | 827 (11.24) | -10.21 | 1.14 | 0.03 | ||
AGE symptoms | 651 (7.00) | 307 (4.17) | -52.84 | 0.60 | < 0.01 | ||
Constipation | 100 (1.08) | 50 (0.68) | -50.00 | 0.63 | < 0.01 | ||
GIB symptoms | 228 (2.45) | 154 (2.09) | -32.46 | 0.85 | < 0.01 | ||
Cardiovascular complaints | |||||||
Chest pain | 661 (7.11) | 520 (7.07) | -21.33 | 0.99 | < 0.01 | ||
Hypertension | 273 (2.94) | 100 (1.36) | -63.37 | 0.46 | < 0.01 | ||
Shortness of breath | 900 (9.68) | 635 (8.63) | -29.44 | 0.89 | < 0.01 | ||
Neurological complaints | |||||||
Dizziness | 975 (10.48) | 523 (7.11) | -46.36 | 0.68 | < 0.01 | ||
Headache | 154 (1.66) | 83 (1.13) | -46.10 | 0.68 | < 0.01 | ||
Convulsion | 34 (0.37) | 32 (0.44) | -5.88 | 1.19 | 0.77 | ||
Stroke symptoms | 180 (1.94) | 135 (1.84) | -25.00 | 0.95 | 0.01 | ||
Altered mental status | 244 (2.62) | 150 (2.04) | -38.52 | 0.78 | < 0.01 | ||
Malaise | 259 (2.78) | 135 (1.84) | -47.88 | 0.66 | < 0.01 | ||
Myalgia | 534 (5.74) | 353 (4.80) | -33.90 | 0.84 | < 0.01 | ||
Glycemic problems | 131 (1.41) | 65 (0.88) | -50.38 | 0.62 | < 0.01 | ||
Urological symptoms | 372 (4.00) | 238 (3.24) | -36.02 | 0.81 | < 0.01 | ||
Medical device problems (tube, probe, or catheter) | 457 (4.91) | 260 (3.54) | -43.11 | 0.72 | < 0.01 | ||
Trauma | 1,534 (16.49) | 1,544 (20.99) | 0.65 | 1.27 | 0.93 | ||
Facial feature problems* | 157 (1.69) | 133 (1.81) | -15.29 | 1.07 | 0.21 | ||
OBS-GYN related problems | 7 (0.08) | 34 (0.46) | 385.71 | 5.75 | < 0.01 | ||
Dermatology problems | 137 (1.47) | 115 (1.56) | -16.06 | 1.06 | 0.23 | ||
Cardiac arrest | 76 (0.82) | 56 (0.76) | -2.19 | 0.93 | 0.06 | ||
Transfer from OPD and LMD | 364 (3.91) | 341 (4.64) | -6.32 | 1.19 | 0.48 | ||
Transfer from hospital | 144 (1.55) | 91 (1.24) | -36.81 | 0.80 | < 0.01 | ||
Psychological problems | 37 (0.40) | 37 (0.50) | 0.00 | 1.25 | 0.97 | ||
Social problems† | 5 (0.05) | 19 (0.26) | 280.00 | 5.2 | < 0.01 | ||
Others | 79 (0.85) | 53 (0.72) | -32.91 | 0.85 | 0.05 | ||