TY  - JOUR
TI  - Significant Reduction in Pediatric, Population-Based Hospital
Admissions Due To COVID-19 in Malta
AB  - Objective: This population-based, retrospective study aimed to determine whether there was
a drop in pediatric admissions during the first year of COVID-19 in Malta, as reported in other
centers worldwide, as well as to determine any differences in patient characteristics when
compared to the previous year.
Materials and Methods: All unplanned pediatric medical admissions to Mater Dei Hospital
from March 1, 2020 (a few days before the first case of COVID-19 in Malta) till February 28, 2021
(study period) and the corresponding period in 2019/20 (control period) and characteristics of
patients admitted during the first 10 weeks (first wave of COVID-19) were analyzed.
Results: Pediatric admissions dropped by 57.7% during the first year of COVID-19 (1601 vs. 3789 in
2019). During the first wave of COVID-19, a higher percentage of neonates were admitted in
2020 when compared to all other ages. There was a lower prevalence of respiratory illnesses
during the first wave of COVID-19 (31.6% vs. 47.5% in 2019, P < .001), with a higher prevalence
of cases related to child abuse or adverse socio-economic circumstances (2020, 9 [3.4%] vs 1
[0.1%] in 2019, P < .001). Following school closures, a drop in communicable disease admissions
was recorded (68 [42.2%] vs. 421 [70.3%] in 2019, P < .001). A negative correlation between daily
pediatric admissions and active COVID-19 cases in Malta was noted (r (68) = −0.33, P = .005).
Conclusion: The drop in admissions likely represents fear of contracting COVID-19 in hospital environments, together with a decline in communicable diseases due to school closures.
Guardians’ concerns must be alleviated as best as possible by effective public health measures.
AU  - Grech, Victor
AU  - Degiorgio, Sophie
AU  - Xuereb, John
AU  - Grech, Neil
AU  - Dimech, Yana Marie
DO  - 10.5152/TurkArchPediatr.2022.21145
PY  - 2022
JO  - Turkish archives of pediatrics (Online)
VL  - 57
IS  - 1
SN  - 2757-6256
SP  - 87
EP  - 92
DB  - TRDizin
UR  - http://search/yayin/detay/529141
ER  -