Seizure- or Epilepsy-Related Emergency Department Visits Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, 2019-2021

In this study of trends in seizure-related ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, seizure-related ED visits during the initial COVID-19 waves declined among all age groups, especially among children aged 0-9 years. These findings are consistent with several other studies (6-8). In one analysis of U.S. ED visits during January 2019-May 2020, the number of weekly all-cause ED visits declined abruptly during March 29-April 25, 2020, along with a decline in ED visits among children aged 0-9 years attributable to common conditions, including influenza, otitis media, upper respiratory conditions, asthma, viral infection, respiratory symptoms, and fever (6). International studies have described a reduction in seizure-related ED visits among children during the COVID-19 pandemic, with one study reporting a notable decline in febrile seizure-related ED visits among children aged 0-6 years (7,8).