Comparison of Ambulance Patients and Outpatients Presented to the Pandemia Area of A University Hospital Emergency Department

INTRODUCTION: In this study we aimed to compare the COVID-19 +/suspected patients who presented to the pandemia area (outpatient enterance/ambulance enterance) of our emergency department (ED) and to determine whether the ambulance system is used approppriately or not during this pandemia process.
METHODS: Patients were divided into two groups as outpatients and ambulance patients. Demographic data, sampling ratio of PCR swab, PCR positivity, thorax CT, CT positivity, hospitalisation ratio and hospitalization day, length of stay in the ED, and the outcome of the groups were compared.
RESULTS: The mean age of ambulance patients was 53,8 ±20,2 (min: 18,max: 93), and the ambulance patients was 41,4±16,04 (min: 18,max: 96) and this value was significantly higher in ambulance patients. Length of stay in the ED of the ambulance patients was 6,1 hours and this value was 2,9 hours for the other group. Hospitalisation length of discharged patients from the ICU was 20,6 days for ambulance patients and 16,9 days for outpatients. Three of the outpatients and 22 of the ambulance patients were died during hospitalisation and 18 of these were males.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The mean age, CT positivity, PCR test positivity were significantly higher in ambulance patients. Similarly, ambulance patients’ length of stay in the ED was higher who were discharged from the ED. ICU hospitalisation, hospitalisation length and mortality ratio were higher in ambulance patients. In the light of these results, it is important to develop approppriate strategies for ambulance and outpatients, to prevent already crowded EDs squeezing under the COVID-19 burden.