{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T11:22:23Z","timestamp":1789730543077,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,17]],"date-time":"2021-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626480000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,17]],"date-time":"2021-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626480000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Dublin, Trinity College"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Eur Geriatr Med"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Purpose<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Reports suggest that many older people deferred seeking healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic due to fear of contracting COVID-19. The aim of this study was to examine trends of emergency department (ED) use by older people during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous years.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The study site is a 1000-bed university teaching hospital with annual ED new-patient attendance of\u2009&gt;\u200950,000. All ED presentations of patients aged\u2009\u2265\u200970\u00a0years from March to August 2020, 2019 and 2018 inclusive (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u200913,989) were reviewed and compared for presenting complaint, Manchester Triage Score, and admission\/discharge decision.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>There was a 16% reduction in presentations across the 6\u00a0months in 2020 compared to the average of 2018\/2019. On average, 4 fewer people aged\u2009\u2265\u200970\u00a0years presented to the ED per day in 2020. Much of this was concentrated in March (33% fewer presentations) and April (31% fewer presentations), when the country was in \u2018lockdown\u2019, i.e. non-essential journeys were banned. There was a 20% reduction in patients presenting with stroke and cardiac complaints. In the 3 months following easing of restrictions, there was a 25% increase in falls and orthopaedic injuries when compared to 2018\/2019.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>This study demonstrates a significant decline in the number of older people presenting to the ED for unscheduled care, including for potentially time-dependent illnesses such as stroke or cardiac complaints. Given the possibility of further lockdowns, it is imperative that we consider enabling strategies to ensure older people access unscheduled care in a timely manner when necessary.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s41999-021-00536-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,17]],"date-time":"2021-07-17T08:02:56Z","timestamp":1626508976000},"page":"1159-1167","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":36,"title":["Trends in emergency department use by older people during the COVID-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Fergal","family":"Howley","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amanda","family":"Lavan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eimear","family":"Connolly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Geraldine","family":"McMahon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mustafa","family":"Mehmood","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9585-2692","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robert","family":"Briggs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"536_CR1","first-page":"45","volume":"7","author":"JJ McCabe","year":"2015","unstructured":"McCabe JJ, Kennelly SP (2015) Acute care of older patients in the emergency department: strategies to improve patient outcomes. 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