@article{ref1,
title="Impact of lockdown due to CoViD-19 on the modalities of intoxicated patients presenting to the emergency room",
journal="Prehospital and disaster medicine",
year="2021",
author="Fayed, Manar M. and Sharif, Asmaa F.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic influences health care facilities world-wide. The flow rate, type, and severity of cases presented to  emergency departments varied during the pandemic in comparison to the past years. However, this change has not been well-described among the cases of hospital  admission due to toxic exposure. STUDY OBJECTIVE: Recognition of the pattern of  toxic exposure among the cases refereed to Tanta Poison Control Center (TPCC; Tanta,  Egypt) during the past five years, and furthermore, exploration of the impact of  lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the pattern of presented cases. <br><br>METHODS:  The current study is a five-year retrospective, comparative cross-sectional study  carried out among acutely intoxicated patients admitted to TPCC during the spring  months (March through May) of 2016-2020. A total of 1,916 patients with complete  medical records were recruited. The type and manner of toxic exposure, demographic,  clinical data, and outcomes were analyzed. <br><br>RESULTS: The current study noted that  there were delays in time from toxic exposure to emergency services during the  lockdown period. This was reflected in significant lower recovery rates (884.8/1,000  population; z = -3.0) and higher death rates (49.4/1,000 population; z = 2.1)  despite the marked decrease in the total number of hospital admissions in comparison  to the past four years. The lockdown period showed significantly higher phosphides  (z = 3.5; χ2 = 34.295; P <.001) and antipsychotics exposure (z = 3.6; χ2 = 21.494; P  <.001) than the previous years. However, predominance of female exposure and  intentional self-poisoning was maintained over the past five years, including the  lockdown. <br><br>CONCLUSION: COVID-19-associated lockdown greatly reformed the usual  intoxication pattern of the cases admitted to emergency room. Also, it played a role  in delaying time of hospital arrival, which was reflected as lower recovery rates  and higher death rates.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1049-023X",
doi="10.1017/S1049023X20001533",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X20001533"
}