Emergency rooms (ER) are largely used by patients with oral complaints, who choose the ER over private or public dental offices for oral prevention and treatment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the activity of most dental facilities was limited, and most hospitals and ERs were dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The present study analyzed the number of and reason for visits at the emergency room (ER) of Ospedale dei Bambini “Vittore Buzzi”, the main pediatric hospital in Milano, Italy, between 2019 and 2020, with a particular focus on oral emergencies. In 2019, 25,435 children turned to the ER, compared to 16,750 in 2020. About 10% of the children were eventually admitted to the hospital in both years. The number of admissions for infectious diseases, other than COVID-19, signed an important decrease in 2020, while trauma/injuries decreased slightly in number but increased in proportion. The number and proportion of ER visits for oral complaints decreased in 2020 compared to 2019. Stomatitis was the most frequent condition, followed by traumatic injuries, which decreased in number and percentage between 2019 and 2020. Oral infections and painful caries accounted for about 15% of the cases in both 2019 and 2020. These data highlight the need to promote territorial services for the prevention and treatment of oral health complaints, including dental emergencies.

Dental Emergencies in an Italian Pediatric Hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic / D. Carmagnola, M. Toma, D. Henin, M. Perrotta, L. Gianolio, A. Colombo, C. Dellavia. - In: HEALTHCARE. - ISSN 2227-9032. - 10:3(2022 Mar), pp. 537.1-537.9. [10.3390/healthcare10030537]

Dental Emergencies in an Italian Pediatric Hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic

D. Carmagnola
Primo
;
M. Toma
Secondo
;
D. Henin;M. Perrotta;L. Gianolio;C. Dellavia
2022

Abstract

Emergency rooms (ER) are largely used by patients with oral complaints, who choose the ER over private or public dental offices for oral prevention and treatment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the activity of most dental facilities was limited, and most hospitals and ERs were dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The present study analyzed the number of and reason for visits at the emergency room (ER) of Ospedale dei Bambini “Vittore Buzzi”, the main pediatric hospital in Milano, Italy, between 2019 and 2020, with a particular focus on oral emergencies. In 2019, 25,435 children turned to the ER, compared to 16,750 in 2020. About 10% of the children were eventually admitted to the hospital in both years. The number of admissions for infectious diseases, other than COVID-19, signed an important decrease in 2020, while trauma/injuries decreased slightly in number but increased in proportion. The number and proportion of ER visits for oral complaints decreased in 2020 compared to 2019. Stomatitis was the most frequent condition, followed by traumatic injuries, which decreased in number and percentage between 2019 and 2020. Oral infections and painful caries accounted for about 15% of the cases in both 2019 and 2020. These data highlight the need to promote territorial services for the prevention and treatment of oral health complaints, including dental emergencies.
COVID-19; dental emergencies; emergency room; oral diseases prevention; oral diseases treatment; oral health promotion
Settore MED/28 - Malattie Odontostomatologiche
Settore MED/38 - Pediatria Generale e Specialistica
mar-2022
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
healthcare-10-00537.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 246.88 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
246.88 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/924841
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 2
  • Scopus 3
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 4
social impact