Study shows fewer pediatric ER visits at start of pandemic didn’t lead to worse long-term outcomes for most patients

The two exceptions were cancer and diabetes. The study found while there was a drop in diagnoses of those two pediatric diseases in the first three months of the pandemic, researchers noticed a significant and sustained increase in diagnoses until Aug. 2022. Researchers concluded children showing up at hospital with undiagnosed cancer didn’t present with more advanced disease compared with the cohort of children diagnosed in the three years leading up to the pandemic. However, there was a significant increase in the number of children who became quite sick because of a delayed diabetes diagnosis. The study concludes factors likely leading to the situation include lack of access to primary care, worry about bringing a child to a hospital during the pandemic and subtle symptoms that don’t set off alarm bells.