Can I read The effect of COVID-19 on emergency medical service call volumes and patient acuity: a cross-sectional study in Niagara, Ontario on EtoBox?

The effect of COVID-19 on emergency medical service call volumes and patient acuity: a cross-sectional study in Niagara, Ontario by Richard Ferron; Gina Agarwal; Rhiannon Cooper; Douglas Munkley is a Medicine article available to read on EtoBox.

What is The effect of COVID-19 on emergency medical service call volumes and patient acuity: a cross-sectional study in Niagara, Ontario about?

## Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a major public health problem. Subsequently, emergency medical services (EMS) have anecdotally experienced fluctuations in demand, with reports across Canada of both increased and decreased demand. Our primary objective was to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on call volumes for several determinants in Niagara Region EMS. Our secondary objective was to assess changes in paramedic-assigned patient acuity scores as determined using the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). ## Methods We analyzed data from a regional EMS database related to call type, volume, and patient acuity for January to May 2016–2020. We used statistical methods to assess differences in EMS calls between 2016 and 2019 and 2020. ## Results A total of 114,507 EMS calls were made for the period of January 1 to May 26 between 2016 and 2020, inclusive. Overall, the incidence rate of EMS calls significantly decreased in 2020 compared to the total EMS calls in 2016–2019. Motor vehicle collisions decreased in 2020 relative to 2016–2019 (17%), while overdoses relatively increased (70%) in 2020 compared to 2016–2019. Calls for patients assigned a higher acuity score incr

Who reads The effect of COVID-19 on emergency medical service call volumes and patient acuity: a cross-sectional study in Niagara, Ontario?

Author

Richard Ferron; Gina Agarwal; Rhiannon Cooper; Douglas Munkley

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Published

2021

Language

EN

Field

Medicine (Health Sciences)