Effects of Relaxed Lockdown on Pediatric ER Visits during SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Italy

• Main Authors: Luigi Matera, Raffaella Nenna, Francesca Ardenti Morini, Giuseppe Banderali, Mauro Calvani, Matteo Calvi, Giorgio Cozzi, Raffaele Falsaperla, Roberto Guidi, Ahmad Kantar, Marcello Lanari, Riccardo Lubrano, Beatrice Messini, Antonio Augusto Niccoli, Vincenzo Tipo, Fabio Midulla, on behalf of the CICERO Group
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: air communicable infections; emergency rooms; social activities reopening; lockdown measures; pediatric; pandemic
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9547

Previously, we demonstrated an 81% reduction in pediatric Emergency Room (ER) visits in Italy during the strict lockdown due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Since May 2020, lockdown measures were relaxed until 6 November 2020, when a strict lockdown was patchily reintroduced. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of the relaxed lockdown on pediatric ER visits in Italy. We performed a retrospective multicenter study involving 14 Italian pediatric ERs. We compared total ER visits from 24 September 2020 to 6 November 2020 with those during the corresponding timeframe in 2019. We evaluated 17 ER specific diagnoses grouped in air communicable and non-air communicable diseases. We recognized four different triage categories: white, green, yellow and red. In 2020 total ER visits were reduced by 51% compared to 2019 (16,088 vs. 32,568, respectively). The decrease in air communicable diseases was significantly higher if compared to non-air communicable diseases (−64% vs. −42%, respectively). ER visits in each triage category decreased in 2020 compared to 2019, but in percentage, white and red codes remained stable, while yellow codes slightly increased and green codes slightly decreased. Our results suggest that preventive measures drastically reduced the circulation of air communicable diseases even during the reopening of social activities but to a lesser extent with regard to the strict lockdown period (March–May 2020).