TY - JOUR T1 - Large decrease in paediatric hospitalisations during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan JF - BMJ Paediatrics Open JO - BMJ Paediatrics Open DO - 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-001013 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - e001013 AU - Kazuaki Sano AU - Masaki Nakamura AU - Hideki Ninomiya AU - Yasuki Kobayashi AU - Atsushi Miyawaki Y1 - 2021/03/01 UR - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/5/1/e001013.abstract N2 - We evaluated the nationwide trends in paediatric hospitalisations including non-emergency hospitalisations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Using inpatient data from 272 acute-care hospitals covering 12.4% of total hospitalisations of all ages, we analysed the number of hospitalisations of children (aged 1–17 years) for weeks 9–21 of 2020 (during the outbreak) versus 2017–2019. Hospitalisation decreased during the outbreak by 38.4% (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.69). There were reductions in communicable diseases and trauma, possibly through non-pharmaceutical interventions, but not in appendicitis. This study highlights the potential importance of reallocating paediatric care resources during the pandemic. ER -