Objective This study examined the characteristics of patients who attempted suicide in the emergency department before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods We compared data from patients in the emergency department following suicide attempts between January 2018 and December 2021. The patients were categorized into two groups: “pre–COVID-19” and “during COVID-19” pandemic.
Results The findings revealed an increasing trend of suicide attempts during the study period. Suicide attempts were reported at 1,107 before the COVID-19 pandemic and 1,356 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients who attempted suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic were younger (38.0±18.5 years vs. 40.7±18.4 years, P<0.01), had a smaller proportion of men (36% vs. 44%, P<0.01), and had fewer medical comorbidities (20.2% vs. 23.6%, P<0.05). The group during the COVID-19 pandemic reported better hygiene conditions (50.5% vs. 40.8%, P<0.01) and lower alcohol consumption (27.7% vs. 37.6%, P<0.01). Patients who attempted suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher rates of use of psychiatric medications and previous suicide attempts. The most common reasons for the suicide attempt were unstable psychiatric disorders (38.8%), poor interpersonal relationships (20.5%), and economic difficulties (14.0%). Drug poisoning (44.1%) was the most common method of suicide attempts. Subgroup analysis with patients who attributed their suicide attempts to COVID-19 revealed a higher level of education (30.8%) and employment status (69.2%), with economic difficulties (61.6%) being the primary cause of suicide attempts.
Conclusion These findings suggest that the prolonged duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on social and economic factors have influenced suicide attempts.
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Emergency department presentations for suicide and self-harm in Korea, 2020–2024: an epidemiological study using the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) database Yuri Choi, Jinwoo Jeong, Borami Lim, Myeong Il Cha Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine.2026; 13(1): 98. CrossRef
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COVID-19 | Emergency Medicine Practice and Administration
Objective This study aimed to assess and compare emergency department (ED) workloads by using relative value units (RVUs) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods This retrospective observational study investigated the RVUs of a single ED from 2019 to 2021. We calculated the mean number of patients per day (PPD) for each year and selected the days when the number of patients was equal to the yearly mean PPD for each of the three years. We calculated the total RVUs per day and RVUs per patient and compared them.
Results We analyzed the RVUs of 12 days in 2019 (mean PPD, 88), 10 days in 2020 (mean PPD, 75), and 14 days in 2021 (mean PPD, 83). The mean of the total RVUs per day were as follows: 533,057.5±66,239.1 in 2019, 505,994.6±48,935.4 in 2020, and 634,219.6±64,024.2 in 2021 (P<0.001). The RVUs per patient in the three year-groups were significantly different (6,057.5±
752.7 in 2019, 6,746.6±652.5 in 2020, and 7,641.2±771.4 in 2021; P<0.001). Post hoc analyses indicated that the total RVUs per day and the RVUs per patient in 2021 were significantly higher than in 2019 or 2020, although the mean PPD in 2019 was the highest.
Conclusion Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mean RVUs per patient have increased, suggesting that the workload per patient may also have increased in the regional emergency medical center.
Objective This study evaluated whether emergency medical service (EMS) use was associated with early arrival and admission for definitive care among intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients. Methods Patients with ICH were enrolled from 29 hospitals between November 2007 and December 2012, excluding those patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage, traumatic ICH, and missing information. The patients were divided into four groups based on visit type to the definitive hospital emergency department (ED): direct visit by EMS (EMS-direct), direct visit without EMS (non-EMS-direct), transferred from a primary hospital by EMS (EMS-transfer), and transferred from a primary hospital without EMS (non-EMS-transfer). The outcomes were the proportions of participants within early (<1 hr) definitive hospital ED arrival from symptom onset (pS2ED) and those within early (<4 hr) admission from symptom onset (pS2AD). Adjusted odds ratios were calculated to determine the association between EMS use and outcomes with and without inter-hospital transfer. Results A total of 6,564 patients were enrolled. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for pS2ED were 22.95 (17.73–29.72), 1.11 (0.67–1.84), and 7.95 (6.04–10.46) and those for pS2AD were 5.56 (4.70–6.56), 0.96 (0.71–1.30), and 2.35 (1.94–2.84) for the EMS-direct, EMS-transfer, and non-EMS-direct groups compared with the non-EMS-transfer group, respectively. Through the interaction model, EMS use was significantly associated with early arrival and admission among direct visiting patients but not with transferred patients. Conclusion EMS use was significantly associated with shorter time intervals from symptom onset to arrival and admission at a definitive care hospital. However, the effect disappeared when patients were transferred from a primary hospital.
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Emergency Medical Services Compliance With Prehospital Stroke Quality Metrics Is Associated With Faster Stroke Evaluation and Treatment J. Adam Oostema, Adrienne Nickles, Justin Allen, Ghada Ibrahim, Zhehui Luo, Mathew J. Reeves Stroke.2024; 55(1): 101. CrossRef
A Narrative Review of Interhospital Transfers for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Neha S. Dangayach, Masha Morozov, Ian Cossentino, John Liang, Deeksha Chada, Devin Bageac, Laura Salgado, Wheatonia Malekebu, Christopher Kellner, Joshua Bederson World Neurosurgery.2024; 190: 1. CrossRef
Epidemiology of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhages in the Republic of Tatarstan M. M. Iachkurinskikh, D. R. Khasanova, V. I. Danilov Russian Neurosurgical Journal named after Professor A. L. Polenov.2024; 16(3): 125. CrossRef
Emergency Medical Services Stroke Care Performance Variability in Michigan: Analysis of a Statewide Linked Stroke Registry J. Adam Oostema, Adrienne Nickles, Zhehui Luo, Mathew J. Reeves Journal of the American Heart Association.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
ANÁLISIS DE LOS INDICADORES DE GESTIÓN DEL SERVICIO MÓVIL DE ATENCIÓN DE URGENCIAS DE CEARÁ Natália Pinheiro Fabricio Formiga, Lucilane Maria Sales da Silva, José Hiago Feitosa de Matos, Emiliana Bezerra Gomes, Kelly Fernanda Silva Santana, Francisco Edilson Ferreira, Maria Veraci Oliveira Queiroz Cogitare Enfermagem.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
ANÁLISE DOS INDICADORES DE GESTÃO DO SERVIÇO DE ATENDIMENTO MÓVEL DE URGÊNCIAS DO CEARÁ Natália Pinheiro Fabricio Formiga, Lucilane Maria Sales da Silva, José Hiago Feitosa de Matos, Emiliana Bezerra Gomes, Kelly Fernanda Silva Santana, Francisco Edilson Ferreira, Maria Veraci Oliveira Queiroz Cogitare Enfermagem.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
ANALYSIS OF THE MANAGEMENT INDICATORS OF THE MOBILE EMERGENCY CARE SERVICE OF CEARÁ Natália Pinheiro Fabricio Formiga, Lucilane Maria Sales da Silva, José Hiago Feitosa de Matos, Emiliana Bezerra Gomes, Kelly Fernanda Silva Santana, Francisco Edilson Ferreira, Maria Veraci Oliveira Queiroz Cogitare Enfermagem.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
2022 Guideline for the Management of Patients With Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Guideline From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Steven M. Greenberg, Wendy C. Ziai, Charlotte Cordonnier, Dar Dowlatshahi, Brandon Francis, Joshua N. Goldstein, J. Claude Hemphill, Ronda Johnson, Kiffon M. Keigher, William J. Mack, J. Mocco, Eileena J. Newton, Ilana M. Ruff, Lauren H. Sansing, Sam Schu Stroke.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Accuracy and Implications of Hemorrhagic Stroke Recognition by Emergency Medical Services J. Adam Oostema, Todd Chassee, William Baer, Allison Edberg, Mathew J. Reeves Prehospital Emergency Care.2021; 25(6): 796. CrossRef
Influence of time to admission to a comprehensive stroke centre on the outcome of patients with intracerebral haemorrhage Luis Prats-Sánchez, Marina Guasch-Jiménez, Ignasi Gich, Elba Pascual-Goñi, Noelia Flores, Pol Camps-Renom, Daniel Guisado-Alonso, Alejandro Martínez-Domeño, Raquel Delgado-Mederos, Ana Rodríguez-Campello, Angel Ois, Alejandra Gómez-Gonzalez, Elisa Cuadrad European Stroke Journal.2020; 5(2): 115. CrossRef
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