Changes in Fracture Epidemiology Due to Covid-19 Crisis; a Letter to Editor Publisher



Khabiri SS¹ ; Nabian MH² ; Zeynolabedin H³ ; Veisi J³ ; Rastgou V³ ; Naderi M⁴ ; Maleki S⁴
Source: Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine Published:2020

Abstract

Since December 2019, when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in China, the main strategy of health policy makers has been to quarantine and impose social restrictions, causing significant behavioral changes in people due to fear of infection (1, 2). Laws limiting traffic, reduced travel permits, paying attention to personal hygiene, and making efforts to clean up private and public environments are some of the changes that have been observed. We also noticed alterations in patients' admission to trauma centers. In a retrospective cross-sectional study, demographic characteristics and type of fracture were analyzed in patients referring to the trauma center of Taleghani Hospital, Kermanshah, Iran, from 1st March to 15t h April, in 3 consecutive years (2018 to 2020). 2,483 trauma patients with the mean age of 37.31 ± 22.86 years were studied (Table1). The findings showed that, the number of fractures has generally decreased in March and April 2020. The change is more prominent in children and young men aged 18 to 35 years, which may be due to reasons such as schools being closed, sports activities being ceased, and the decrease in traffic, as well as the reduction of accidents that have affected these age groups. The age, gender, and type of fracture had approximately the same pattern during the studied period in three years, but we have seen an increase in some specific fractures such as foot bone and ankle (figure1). The fractures of middle-aged women, such as those © 2020. All Rights Reserved.