Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic has a substantial impact on socioeconomic, political, demographic, and other aspects of life. Effective healthcare is, however, a primary determinant of successful fighting against Covid-19. The analysis of local healthcare indicators serves as a source for estimating pandemic magnitude and the adaptation of healthcare at a national level. In this study, the rates of Covid-19 hospital admissions to the Ivano-Frankivsk City Hospital, Ukraine, from April 2020 to May 2021 were analysed. All cases were grouped by age, sex, and the type of admission; data were analyzed monthly and seasonally. The peaks of hospital admissions were observed in November 2020 and March 2021; however, the highest mortality rates were seen from August to November 2020. The analysis of age- and sex-disaggregated Covid-19 mortality data showed the predominance of elderly males (61.9%, 66.6 ± 3.9 years) over females (38.1%, 71.8 ± 2.3 years). The ratio of hospital admissions was unstable: the percentage of emergency, GP-referred and self-referred admissions was similar from April to May 2020; however, GP-referred admissions prevailed, and the number of self-referral patients decreased twice between March and May 2021. In conclusions, the trends in hospital admissions were similar to those reported in other studies. However, the differences in time frames and socio-demographic characteristics were observed that highlights the importance of considering regional, social and geographic aspects of the population when improving the capacity of healthcare system and establishing effective preventive measures against the pandemic at the local level.
References
Rogers RG, Swift S. The world is upside down; how coronavirus changes the way we care for our patients. International Urogynecology Journal. 2020;31(5):853–854. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-020-04292-7
Pollard CA, Morran MP, Nestor-Kalinoski AL. The COVID-19 pandemic: a global health crisis. Physiological Genomics. 2020;52(11):549–557. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1152/physiolgenomics.00089.2020
Khan M, Khan H, Khan S, Nawaz M. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases at a screening clinic during the early outbreak period: a single-centre study. Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2020;69(8):1114–1123. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001231
Awadasseid A, Wu Y, Tanaka Y, Zhang W. Initial success in the identification and management of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) indicates human-to-human transmission in Wuhan, China. International Journal of Biological Sciences. 2020;16(11):1846–1860. Available from: https://doi.org/10.7150/ijbs.45018
Saha K, Torous J, Caine ED, De Choudhury M. Psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: large-scale quasi-experimental study on social media. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020;22(11):e22600. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2196/22600
Matthes J, Koban K, Neureiter A, Stevic A. Longitudinal relationships among fear of COVID-19, smartphone online self-disclosure, happiness, and psychological well-being: survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2021;23(9):e28700. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2196/28700
Graffigna G, Palamenghi L, Savarese M, Castellini G, Barello S. Effects of the COVID‐19 emergency and national lockdown on Italian citizens’ economic concerns, government trust, and health engagement: evidence from a two‐wave panel study. The Milbank Quarterly. 2021;99(2):369-392. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12506
Mbunge E. Effects of COVID-19 in South African health system and society: an explanatory study. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews. 2020;14(6):1809–1814. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2020.09.016
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Coronavirus epidemic monitoring system [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2021 Nov 1]. Available from: https://COVID19.rnbo.gov.ua/
United Nations Development Programme [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2021 Sep 15]. Available from: https://www.ua.undp.org/content/ukraine/en/home/about-us/who-we-are.html
World Health Organization. COVID-19 Strategic preparedness and response plan. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. Available from: https://www.swissphilanthropy.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/WHO-COVID_19-Strategic-Preparedness-and-Response-Plan-2021.pdf
Bienvenu LA, Noonan J, Wang X, Peter K. Higher mortality of COVID-19 in males: sex differences in immune response and cardiovascular comorbidities. Cardiovascular Research. 2020;116(14):2197–2206. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvaa284
Papadopoulos V, Li L, Samplaski M. Why does COVID‐19 kill more elderly men than women? Is there a role for testosterone? Andrology. 2020;9(1):65–72. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.12868
Ivanov A, Semenova E. Long‐term monitoring of the development and extinction of IgA and IgG responses to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Journal of Medical Virology. 2021;93(10):5953–5960. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.27166
Sapiano MRP, Dudeck MA, Soe M, Edwards JR, O’Leary EN, Wu H, et al. Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on US Hospitals and Patients, April–July 2020. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 2021;1–8. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2021.69
Kapsner LA, Kampf MO, Seuchter SA, Gruendner J, Gulden C, Mate S, et al. Reduced rate of inpatient hospital admissions in 18 German university hospitals during the COVID-19 lockdown. Frontiers in Public Health. 2021;8:594117. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.594117
Helgeland J, Telle KE, Grøsland M, Huseby BM, Håberg S, Lindman ASE. Admissions to Norwegian Hospitals during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2021;49(7):681–688. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948211000813
Amengual O, Atsumi T. COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Rheumatology International. 2020;41(1):1–5. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-020-04744-9
Sarkar A, Chakrabarti AK, Dutta S. Covid-19 Infection in India: a comparative analysis of the second wave with the first wave. Pathogens. 2021;10(9):1222. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10091222
Saito S, Asai Y, Matsunaga N, Hayakawa K, Terada M, Ohtsu H, et al. First and second COVID-19 waves in Japan: a comparison of disease severity and characteristics. Journal of Infection. 2021;82(4):84–123. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.10.033
Ayala A, Villalobos Dintrans P, Elorrieta F, Castillo C, Vargas C, Maddaleno M. Identification of COVID-19 waves: considerations for research and policy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021;18(21):11058. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111058
Lanser L, Burkert FR, Thommes L, Egger A, Hoermann G, Kaser S, et al. Testosterone deficiency is a risk factor for severe COVID-19. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2021;12:694083. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2021.694083
Giagulli VA, Guastamacchia E, Magrone T, Jirillo E, Lisco G, De Pergola G, et al. Worse progression of COVID‐19 in men: is testosterone a key factor? Andrology. 2020;9(1):53–64. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.12836
Meyerowitz-Katz G, Merone L. A systematic review and meta-analysis of published research data on COVID-19 infection fatality rates. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2020;101:138–148. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.09.1464
O’Neil A, Scovelle AJ, Milner AJ, Kavanagh A. Gender/sex as a social determinant of cardiovascular risk. Circulation. 2018;137(8):854–864. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.028595
Profeta P. Gender equality and public policy during COVID-19. CESifo Economic Studies. 2020;66(4):365–375. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ifaa018
Wenham C, Smith J, Morgan R. Covid-19 is an opportunity for gender equality within the workplace and at home. BMJ. 2020;369:m1546. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1546
King T, Hewitt B, Crammond B, Sutherland G, Maheen H, Kavanagh A. Reordering gender systems: can COVID-19 lead to improved gender equality and health? The Lancet. 2020;396(10244):80–81. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31418-5
Levin AT, Hanage WP, Owusu-Boaitey N, Cochran KB, Walsh SP, Meyerowitz-Katz G. Assessing the age specificity of infection fatality rates for COVID-19: systematic review, meta-analysis, and public policy implications. European Journal of Epidemiology. 2020;35(12):1123–1138. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-020-00698-1
Salah HM, Mehta JL. Hypothesis: Sex-related differences in ACE2 activity may contribute to higher mortality in men versus women with COVID-19. Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 2020;26(2):114–118. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/1074248420967792
Li X, Xu S, Yu M, Wang K, Tao Y, Zhou Y, et al. Risk factors for severity and mortality in adult COVID-19 inpatients in Wuhan. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2020;146(1):110–118. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.04.006
Esfahanian F, SeyedAlinaghi S, Janfaza N, Tantuoyir MM. Predictors of hospital mortality among patients with COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran. SAGE Open Medicine. 2021;9:205031212110515. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121211051573
Dehingia N, Raj A. Sex differences in COVID-19 case fatality: do we know enough? The Lancet Global Health. 2021;9(1):e14–e15. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30464-2
Undurraga EA, Chowell G, Mizumoto K. COVID-19 case fatality risk by age and gender in a high testing setting in Latin America: Chile, March–August 2020. Infectious Diseases of Poverty. 2021;10(1):11. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-020-00785-1

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.