TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic at a major Danish trauma center in 2020 compared with 2018-2019: A retrospective cohort study
JO  - Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
A1  - Trier, Frederik
A1  - Fjølner, Jesper
A1  - Raaber, Nikolaj
A1  - Sørensen, Anders H.
A1  - Kirkegaard, Hans
SP  - 265
EP  - 272
VL  - 66
IS  - 2
N2  - BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic demanded changes in societal behavior and health care worldwide. Previous studies have compared trauma patient admissions in COVID-19-related lockdowns to prior years. This study describes the COVID-19 impact on trauma patient admissions during entire 2020 at a major trauma center in Denmark.  METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed trauma patients received by a trauma team and admitted at Aarhus University Hospital in 2020 compared with 2018-2019. The incidence of injuries, mechanism of injury, 30-day mortality, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) were investigated.  RESULTS: The incidence of minor injuries (ISS 1-15) increased by 24% in 2020 compared with 2018-2019 (incidence rate ratio 1.24 [95% CI: 1.11-1.39]). The incidence of severe injuries (ISS >15) in 2020 did not change compared with 2018-2019 (incidence rate ratio 0.97 [95% CI: 0.80-1.17]). The 30-day mortality was similar in 2020 compared with 2018-2019. Comparing 2020 with 2018-2019, the risk ratio of traffic injuries decreased (0.90 [95% CI: 0.82-0.99]), risk ratio for fall injuries was 1.13 (95% CI: 0.97-1.30), for violence 1.13 (95% CI: 0.51-2.50), and for self-harm 1.94 (95% CI: 0.95-3.94). During the first lockdown of 2020, trauma team activations declined from 49.5 to 42 and the risk ratio for traffic injuries was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.50-1.10) compared with the same period in 2018-2019.  CONCLUSION: The incidence of minor injuries increased, but the incidence of severe injuries was similar in 2020 compared with 2018-2019. Societal restrictions might alter the mechanism of injuries. The first lockdown indicated an association with reduced traffic injuries.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0001-5172
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aas.13997
ID  - ref1
ER  -