Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Epilepsy Evaluations in the Pediatric Emergency Department

NCT06294977 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: CRISI-COVID
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 1,000
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background. Seizures are a common cause of evaluation in the pediatric emergency department (ED). Several studies about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ED attendances report a considerable reduction in general pediatric care. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the admission to the pediatric ED for seizures. Materials and methods. We performed a retrospective study to assess the rate of ED admission for seizures at the pediatric ED of the Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan between January 2017 and December 2021, comparing the pre-pandemic (from January 2017 to February 2020) and pandemic periods (from March 2020 to December 2021).

Conditions

Epilepsy; Emergency Services, Hospital; COVID-19

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• During the study period, 1,091 patients with seizures were admitted to pediatric ED, 776 before the pandemic and 315 during the pandemic. In particular, the evaluation rates per month were 20.4 before the pandemic and 14.3 afterward

  the pre-pandemic (from January 2017 to February 2020) and pandemic periods (from March 2020 to December 2021)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Patients with a history of previous seizures showed a greater decrease in the monthly number of ED visits compared to those with a first seizure. An increased rate of unprovoked seizures and a decreased rate of provoked ones were observed in the pandemic

  the pre-pandemic (from January 2017 to February 2020) and pandemic periods (from March 2020 to December 2021)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 1 Month - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

All children under the age of 18 years who had at least one access to the Pediatric ED of the hospital for seizures

You may qualify if:

• age: 1 months to 17 years
• sex: all
• with at least one access to the Pediatric ED of the hospital for seizures

You may not qualify if:

• children who received a diagnosis of seizure on admission in triage that was not confirmed at discharge (breath-holding spell, fainting…).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico: lead

Study Sites (1)

Pediatric Emergency Department Clinica de Marchi, Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico

Milan, Italy

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Epilepsy; Emergencies; COVID-19

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Virus Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Princpal investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 4, 2024
• First Posted: March 6, 2024
• Study Start: November 30, 2022
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2022
• Study Completion: December 30, 2022
• Last Updated: March 6, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-03

Locations

IT (1)