EPISODES study [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The epidemiology, severity and outcomes of children presenting to emergency department across Europe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
IRAS ID
284008
Contact name
Ruud Nijman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN91495258
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, European Society of Emergency Medicine; n/a, Research in European Paediatric Emergency Medicine network
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 17 days
Research summary
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has greatly impacted the need and the delivery of urgent and emergency health care for children. We aim to provide evidence for the alleged reduction in the numbers of children presenting to the emergency department across Europe, to assess timeliness of presentations to emergency care of acutely unwell children, and to monitor for emerging Covid-related disease entities, such as the Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome - temporally associate with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) . We will do so by performing a retrospective cohort study that will use anonymous and aggregated data of routinely collected clinical data to compare the type of problems, the severity and the outcomes of children presenting to emergency departments during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and compare these to historical data. Monthly aggregated data will be entered on a validated and secure online platform (RedCap) for the time period January 2018 through to January 2020, and weekly aggregated data for the period February 2020 – May 2020. All data will be extracted from electronic health care records by the local clinical teams. We will use data from 2-4 institutions from European countries using a quota sampling design. Every site lead will complete a site-specific survey to inform on hospital specific factors and local changes to healthcare pathways induced by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. No data with personal identifiable data will be collected, nor any data on patient individual level. Data will be analysed by comparing absolute numbers and percentages of children presenting to emergency departments, the severity of their presenting problems, their working diagnoses, and the patient outcomes, over time during the study period. This study will be performed by the EPISODES study steering group, in collaboration with the European Society of Emergency Medicine and the Research in European Paediatric Emergency Medicine network.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A