Non-COVID-19 admissions to the emergency department during the pandemic second wave in Italy: What is changed from the first wave?

We recently read with interest the articles written by Baugh et al. [1] and Nourazari et al. [2] regarding a significant decrease in hospital admissions through the Emergency Department (ED) during the COVID-19 pandemic in US. Similarly, many other studies have shown a significant reduction in worldwide ED visits related to different disciplines over the first weeks of the pandemic ( “first wave”) [3-5]. The general opinion is that patients were avoiding hospitals, because of the fear of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, highlighting both the overuse of EDs by low complexity cases that could be managed by general practitioners and a worrisome tendency to postpone the access to ED when necessary [6].
Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Source Type: research