Evidence mapPaperPMID 36348347Full record

ArticleBMC oral health2022

Interplay of pandemic and seasonal parameters in dental emergency service.

Charlott Luise Hell, James Deschner, Pablo Cores Ziskoven, Philipp Mildenberger, Jens Weusmann

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC oral health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Charlott Luise HellDepartment of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Augustusplatz 2, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
James DeschnerDepartment of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Augustusplatz 2, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
Pablo Cores ZiskovenDepartment of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Augustusplatz 2, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
Philipp MildenbergerInstitute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
Jens WeusmannDepartment of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Augustusplatz 2, 55131, Mainz, Germany. jens.weusmann@unimedizin-mainz.de.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo evaluate the relationship between pandemic events and dental emergency service frequentation. Utilization patterns in the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed and considered in regard of seasonal parameters.

methodsAll outpatients seeking treatment in a university hospital's dental emergency service were analyzed in the years 2019, 2019 and 2020 according to demographic data and emergencies were subdivided into "absolute" and "relative". The years 2018 and 2019 were used to compare COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 phases. Defined waves of the pandemic were compared with equivalent prior-year periods.

resultsOur study includes 11,219 dental emergency patients over a period of three years with a slight surplus of male patients. Comparing the pre-COVID-19 years and 2020 as a year of pandemic, the total count of cases decreased by more than 25%. The share of absolute emergencies in 2020 was higher than in the years before (p < 0.0001). The under-utilization during the waves was more pronounced during the first wave compared to the second waves.

conclusionsAdditionally to the clear decrease by more than 25% in 2020, we found an inverse dependency of 7-day-incidence of COVID-19 and number of visits. This effect was more distinct for relative emergencies, while the number of patients with absolute emergencies remains rather constant. Probably, there is an acclimatization effect regarding the waves. Patients older than 60 years who suffered from relative emergencies showed an under-utilzation during 2020. During a pandemic such as COVID-19, the effect of under-utilization is more pronounced among elderly patients. However, a pandemic acclimatization effect seems to occur. This can be taken into account in the administration of this kind of circumstances in the future.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAgedEmergenciesEmergency Service, HospitalHumansMaleRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2SeasonsCOVID-19COVID-19 wavesDental emergenciesEmergency patientsSeasonal effects

Identifiers

PMID36348347
PMCPMC9644011

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.