TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits for Substance Addiction and Drug Overdose in North Cyprus
AB  - Introduction: Following the COVID-19 outbreak in China in December 2019, viral spread started to be seen in many countries. In March 2020, simultaneous with the pandemic declaration, the first case was observed in Northern Cyprus. During this time, the emergency department visit patterns showed differences worldwide.  Aim: Thus, this study aims to compare and contrast the differences between pre-pandemic and pandemic period emergency department visits resulting from any kind of drug and/or substance intoxication. To do so, a retrospective analysis was held using two private university hospitals’ electronic recording systems for the periods of 1st December 2017-9th March 2020 (before the pandemic) and 10th March 2020-30th June 2022 (during the COVID-19 pandemic).  Results: The demographic data were collected, and the study-specific data were grouped into 5 different intoxication categories. Data collected were compared in terms of pre- and post-pandemic timescales. The results showed that there is no significant difference between the demographic data of patients however, intoxication-related emergency department visits were significantly lower during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. Conclusion: This study will be a pioneer in contributing to many social problems, especially substance abuse, which was previously lacking in scientific data in Northern Cyprus.
AU  - KADAM, KORAY
AU  - Kocadal, Kumsal
AU  - Etikan, Ilker
AU  - COK, ISMET
AU  - Saygi, Sahan
DO  - 10.31020/mutftd.1273596
PY  - 2023
JO  - Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Lokman Hekim Tıp Tarihi ve Folklorik Tıp Dergisi
VL  - 13
IS  - 3
SN  - 1309-761X
SP  - 743
EP  - 749
DB  - TRDizin
UR  - http://search/yayin/detay/1201547
ER  -