Abstract:
The objective of this study was to compare the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown and the alcohol restriction on the
number of cases that presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with the same time period two years prior.
The method used was a retrospective review of medical records, directly comparing the types and numbers of
trauma cases as well as non-trauma cases that presented to the ED in March and April 2020 with the same period
two years prior. Our results showed a reduction during both months of lockdown compared to the same time
period in 2018 with trauma cases in March 2020 down 33.14% and April 2020 down 57.93%. The non-trauma
ED cases were down 2.52% in March and 37.43% in April compared to two years prior. When comparing only the
last 6 days of March, a significant percentage decrease is visible as trauma cases fell from 20.79% in 2018 to just
8.58% of the total cases in 2020. In conclusion, our data showed a significant reduction in almost all types of ED
cases during the lockdown period, but most significantly in trauma-related cases which was likely due, inter alia,
to the prohibition of alcohol sales, gatherings and unnecessary travel.
