Background The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)has had great effects on health systems worldwide,not only in relation to coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)cases but also affecting patients with other pathologies.Methods ECIEN-2020 is an observational study conducted in a tertiary referral hospital in Navarra,Spain.It describes the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and the preventive measures adopted,in pediatric admissions for non-COVID-19 diseases.Admissions during March-June 2020(first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain)are described and compared with the same quarter in 2019.A sub-analysis was performed delving into epidemiology.Patient characteristics(age,sex,past medical history),disease characteristics(symptoms,duration of symptoms,previous consultation in Primary Care Health Center),and admission characteristics(place and average stay)were analyzed.Results A 33%reduction in the number of pediatric hospital admissions was observed,decreasing from 529 hospitaliza-tions in 2019 to 353 in 2020(P<0.001).This highlights a 48%reduction in patients admitted for pulmonary diseases.There were no significant changes in average hospital-stay,percentage of intensive care unit admissions,or in admissions for other reasons.Percentage of patients admitted among those seen in the emergency department rose from 5.1%in 2019 to 10.9%in 2020,whereas the total number of consultations in the emergency department decreased by 68%.Conclusion The pandemic and the measures adopted due to SARS-CoV-2 have significantly decreased pediatric admissions for non-COVID-19 diseases,especially due to a reduction in the hospitalization for respiratory diseases.
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