Impact of Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak on the use of emergency medical resources in febrile patients

Jeong, Hyunho; Jeong, Sikyoung; Oh, Juseok; Woo, Seon Hee; So, Byung Hak; Wee, Jeong Hee; Kim, Ji Hoon; Im, Ji Yong; Choi, Seung Pill; Park, Kyoungnam; Cho, Byul Nim Hee; Hong, Sungyoup

These results indicate that after the MERS outbreak, UF patients visited the ED after a longer duration of febrile symptoms and remained there longer (Table 3 and Fig. 1 ). Elevated body temperature, an important vital sign for febrile patients and resulting in ED attendance, was compared for both groups (Fig. 2) . The body temperature of the patients gradually decreased as time passed, with statistical significance in both age groups (P < 0.001). This means that UF patients with mild fever used emergency services at an earlier stage, with a lower body temperature. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly increased in 2015 compared to the previous years in OF patients (P < 0.001). Change of blood pressure was not analyzed because it is not routinely checked in UF patients in the ED. The pulse rate did not change in both age groups (Table 3) .