Examining Pediatric Emergency Utilization Trends Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Eight-Year Cohort Study from a South Korean Tertiary Center.

ABSTRACT: Purpose: This study investigates trends in pediatric emergency department (ED) utilization before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on age-specific patterns, triage severity, diagnostic categories, and clinical presentations. Methods: Data were collected for 71,560 individuals (40,428 males and 31,132 females aged 0-18 years) who visited the ED at Samsung Changwon Hospital between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2023. Patients were categorized into pre-COVID-19 (2016-2019) and post-COVID-19 (2020-2023) periods. Age, Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) scores, visit outcomes, diagnostic codes (ICD-10), and vital signs were analyzed. Age-specific analyses were performed in four groups: <12 months, 1-6 years, 7-12 years, and 13-18 years. Results: Since the CO

SUBMITTER: Lee HJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12468405 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature