Impact of the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak on Emergency Care Utilization and Mortality in South Korea.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

In May 2015, South Korea experienced an epidemic of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). This study investigated the impacts of MERS epidemic on emergency care utilization and mortality in South Korea.

Materials and methods

A natural experimental study was conducted using healthcare utilization and mortality data of the entire Korean population. The number of monthly emergency room (ER) visits was investigated to identify changes in emergency care utilization during the MERS epidemic; these trends were also examined according to patients' demographic factors, disease severity, and region. Deaths within 7 days after visiting an ER were analyzed to evaluate the impact of the reduction in ER visits on mortality.

Results

The number of ER visits during the peak

SUBMITTER: Lee SY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6660446 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature