코로나19 발생 전·후와 소방 대응 시기에 따른 경상북도 119구급대 이용 환자의 변화*

초록

Objective: This study is a retrospective observational study of patients who used emergency services in Gyeongsangbuk-do to analyze the changes in patients by relevant factors before and after the COVID-19 outbreak and by the timing of firefighting response. Methods: The study population included patients transported by Gyeongsangbuk-do 119 ambulance service during the two years before and after COVID-19 from January 20, 2019 to January 19, 2021. The final analysis included 102,640 patients before the outbreak and 91,152 patients after the outbreak, for a total of 193,792 patients. The categories of demographic and transportation accessibility and clinical characteristics according to the time before and after the occurrence of Covid-19 were expressed in frequency and percentage, and significance tests were analyzed by Chi-Square. Results: The number of emergency transfers decreased by 11,488 cases (11.2%) after the coronavirus outbreak, while transfers to hospitals outside the jurisdiction and to long-distance hospitals over 30 km away showed the largest increase (p<.001). This increase was particularly evident during the second period, which corresponds to the first epidemic wave in the Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do regions (p<.001). After the coronavirus outbreak, the proportion of patients aged 60 or older increased to 55.8% (p<.001). The number of injured patients decreased, while the number of patients with severe changes in consciousness and those in semi-emergency situations increased (p<.001). Among patient symptoms, high fever and cough showed the greatest increase after the coronavirus outbreak (p<.001). Neurological symptoms, such as dizziness (5.3% vs. 8.3%), and digestive symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting (6.9% vs. 9.8%), also saw significant increases after the outbreak (p<.001), rising more than other symptoms (p<.001) Conclusion : In consideration of the Gyeongsangbuk -do region, which is vulnerable to the transfer due to geographical conditions and lack of medical resources, it is necessary to develop a response protocol for long-distance transport and senior citizens, and this study is the first study to analyze the influence on the use of first aid services using the first emergency service in Gyeongsangbuk-do. It can be used as an important basic data to build an infectious disease response system in medical vulnerable areas.

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