Impact of easing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on traumatic injuries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: one-year experience at a major trauma centre.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-

Trauma Centers* ; COVID-19*/epidemiology ; COVID-19*/prevention & control; Humans ; Saudi Arabia/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Pandemics/prevention & control ; Communicable Disease Control

Introduction: Lockdown restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced the number of injuries recorded. However, little is known about the impact of easing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on the nature and outcome of injuries. This study aims to compare injury patterns prior to and after the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in Saudi Arabia.
Method: Data were collected retrospectively from the Saudi TraumA Registry for the period between March 25, 2019, and June 21, 2021. These data corresponded to three periods: March 2019-February 2020 (pre-restrictions, period 1), March 2020-June 2020 (lockdown, period 2), and July 2020-June 2021 (post easing of restrictions, period 3). Data related to patients' demographics, mechanism and severity of injury, and in-hospital mortality were collected and analysed.
Results: A total of 5,147 traumatic injury patients were included in the analysis (pre-restrictions n = 2593; lockdown n = 218; post easing of lockdown restrictions n = 2336). An increase in trauma cases (by 7.6%) was seen in the 30-44 age group after easing restrictions (n = 648 vs. 762, p < 0.01). Motor vehicle crashes (MVC) were the leading cause of injury, followed by falls in all the three periods. MVC-related injuries decreased by 3.1% (n = 1068 vs. 890, p = 0.03) and pedestrian-related injuries decreased by 2.7% (n = 227 vs. 143, p < 0.01); however, burn injuries increased by 2.2% (n = 134 vs. 174, p < 0.01) and violence-related injuries increased by 0.9% (n = 45 vs. 60, p = 0.05) post easing of lockdown restrictions. We observed an increase in in-hospital mortality during the period of 12 months after easing of lockdown restrictions-4.9% (114/2336) compared to 12 months of pre-lockdown period-4.3% (113/2593).
Conclusion: This is one of the first studies to document trauma trends over a one-year period after easing lockdown restrictions. MVC continues to be the leading cause of injuries despite a slight decrease; overall injury cases rebounded towards pre-lockdown levels in Saudi Arabia. Injury prevention needs robust legislation with respect to road safety measures and law enforcement that can decrease the burden of traumatic injuries.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)

JAMA Psychiatry. 2021 Apr 1;78(4):372-379. (PMID: 33533876)
BMC Pediatr. 2021 Sep 25;21(1):424. (PMID: 34563167)
N Z Med J. 2020 Apr 24;133(1513):81-88. (PMID: 32325471)
S Afr Med J. 2020 Dec 14;111(2):110-113. (PMID: 33944719)
Front Glob Womens Health. 2020 Sep 08;1:4. (PMID: 34816149)
Ann Saudi Med. 2014 Jul-Aug;34(4):291-6. (PMID: 25811200)
BMC Health Serv Res. 2020 Jan 6;20(1):18. (PMID: 31906941)
Australas Emerg Care. 2022 Mar;25(1):13-22. (PMID: 33619002)
Accid Anal Prev. 2020 Sep;144:105653. (PMID: 32629227)
Global Health. 2021 Oct 1;17(1):117. (PMID: 34598720)
Inj Epidemiol. 2014;1(1):21. (PMID: 26613073)
Ann Surg. 2015 Mar;261(3):565-72. (PMID: 24424142)
Cureus. 2020 Aug 17;12(8):e9811. (PMID: 32953322)
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2020 May 12;14:20. (PMID: 32419840)
Bone Jt Open. 2020 Nov 01;1(6):261-266. (PMID: 33215112)
N Engl J Med. 2020 Mar 26;382(13):1199-1207. (PMID: 31995857)
Am J Emerg Med. 2020 Sep;38(9):1732-1736. (PMID: 32738468)
World J Emerg Surg. 2021 Jul 13;16(1):38. (PMID: 34256793)
Front Public Health. 2021 Jul 13;9:704294. (PMID: 34327189)
Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2021 Jun;47(3):631-636. (PMID: 32997167)
J Affect Disord. 2021 Apr 1;284:18-26. (PMID: 33582428)
J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2020 Aug;73(8):1575-1592. (PMID: 32527666)
ANZ J Surg. 2020 Nov;90(11):2227-2231. (PMID: 32894624)
JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Oct 1;180(10):1328-1333. (PMID: 32744612)

KSRG-2022-069 King Salman Center for Disability Research

Keywords: Covid-19; Easing restrictions; Injury; Major trauma; Motor Vehicle Crashes; Pandemic

Date Created: 20230104 Date Completed: 20230106 Latest Revision: 20230203

20240513

PMC9812537

10.1186/s12889-023-14981-9

36600205