Trends in Emergency Department Visits and Surgeries due to Traumatic Brain Injury During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Finland

Saara Jäntti; Ville Ponkilainen; Ilari Kuitunen; Mikko Uimonen; Teemu Luoto; Ville M Mattila

doi:10.1007/s42399-023-01437-9

Trends in Emergency Department Visits and Surgeries due to Traumatic Brain Injury During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Finland

SN Compr Clin Med. 2023;5(1):103. doi: 10.1007/s42399-023-01437-9. Epub 2023 Mar 14.

Authors

Saara Jäntti¹, Ville Ponkilainen², Ilari Kuitunen^{3

4}, Mikko Uimonen², Teemu Luoto^{1

5}, Ville M Mattila^{1

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Kauppi Campus, Arvo Ylpön Katu 34, 33520 Tampere, Finland.
² Department of Surgery, Central Finland Hospital Nova, Hoitajantie 3, 40620 Jyväskylä, Finland.
³ Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, 70211 Kuopio, Finland.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Mikkeli Central Hospital, Porrassalmenkatu 35-37, 50100 Mikkeli, Finland.
⁵ Department of Neurosurgery, Tampere University Hospital, PL 2000, 33521 Tampere, Finland.
⁶ Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Tampere University Hospital, Teiskontie 35, PL 2000, 33521 Tampere, Finland.
⁷ Coxa Joint Replacement Hospital, Niveltie 4, 33520 Tampere, Finland.

Abstract

We aim to evaluate the changes in the incidence of TBI, trauma craniotomies, and craniectomies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. This retrospective register study was conducted at three Finnish hospitals. We retrieved the numbers of emergency department (ED) visits, inpatient admissions, and trauma craniotomies and craniectomies due to TBI in the adult population from 2017 to 2020.We calculated the incidences per 100 000 inhabitants and compared the year 2020 to the reference years (2017-2019) by incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals. The incidence of TBI-related ED visits during the study period compared to the reference years started to decrease in March 2020 (IRR 0.86, CI: 0.73-1.02), and the lowest incidence was seen in April 2020 (IRR 0.83, CI: 0.68-1.01). The incidence of ED visits showed a second decrease in December (IRR 0.80, CI: 0.67-0.96). The incidence of concussion decreased during the national lockdown in March (IRR 0.80, CI 0.66-0.97). The incidence of ED visits due to TBI decreased after the declaration of national lockdown in spring 2020 and showed a second decrease during regional restrictions in December. In addition, the incidence of neurosurgically treated TBI decreased during restaurant restrictions in the spring.

Keywords: COVID-19; Craniotomy; Neurosurgery; Traumatic brain injury.