The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on otolaryngologic emergency department visits at two major NYC hospital systems

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, emergency departments (ED) across the country have seen a significant decrease in patient visits. We aim to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on ED visits for acute otolaryngologic complaints in New York City, one of the first epicenters of the pandemic in the US. We conducted a retrospective study of patients who presented to the ED with a primary diagnosis of an acute otolaryngologic complaint between March 1 and May 31 in 2019 and 2020. This was a multicenter study, including two tertiary care hospital systems encompassing Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, and Long Island. A total of 10,162 patients were identified. Significantly fewer patients presented to the ED for acute otolaryngologic complaints in 2020 (7332 vs 2830, p