Effect of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Pediatric Emergency Department Visits for Acute Gastroenteritis Evaluated Using a Validated Clinical Severity Score.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak that began in late 2019 has significantly affected quality of life and healthcare. Approaches to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have also affected the prevalence of other diseases. This retrospective review evaluated pediatric emergency department (PED) volume, in terms of children with acute gastro-enteritis (AGE), and changes in AGE severity before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary medical center in Taiwan.Methods: Patients who visited the PED and were diagnosed with AGE during the 70-day COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, or the identical period in 2020, were compared using a clinically vali-dated AGE severity score, the modified Vesikari score (MVS), and additional parameters. Results: During the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a 61.4% reduction in the number of children with AGE visiting the PED. In that period, the AGE severity score was similar compared to the pre-pandemic period (9.00 vs. 8.57, p Z 0.273). The mean C-reactive protein (CRP) level (55.7 vs. 40.6 mg/L, p < 0.001) and rate of antibiotics use (48% vs. 23.5%, p < 0.001) were higher during the outbreak than the pre-pandemic period.