Temporal trends in scabies-related emergency department visits: a retrospective trend analysis of 10,994 visits

Background: 

Scabies is a contagious skin infestation caused by Sarcoptes scabiei and affects over 200 million people worldwide. Changes in behaviour and living conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced its transmission dynamics. This study aimed to evaluate temporal trends and epidemiological characteristics of scabies-related emergency department (ED) visits.

Methods: 

In this single-centre retrospective ED-based trend analysis, 10,994 scabies-related emergency department visits recorded with a principal diagnosis of scabies between January 2022 and October 2023 were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and negative binomial regression were used to assess temporal trends and associated factors.

Results: 

Of all visits, 10,434 (94.9%) were initial and 560 (5.1%) were early repeat visits. The mean age was 22.3±18.1years, and 57.2% of visits occurred in males. Monthly visit counts fluctuated over time, ranging from 236 in January 2022 to a peak of 737 in December 2022. Negative binomial regression indicated a significant average monthly increase in ED visit counts (IRR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.03–1.07, p 500). However, in the denominator-adjusted sensitivity analysis using monthly green-zone ED visits as an offset, the temporal increase was attenuated and was not statistically significant (IRR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.99–1.03, p=0.268).

Conclusion: 

Scabies-related ED visits increased during the observation period; however, these findings should be interpreted as increased ED visit burden rather than direct evidence of population-level incidence. Strengthened surveillance, early recognition, contact management, and adherence-focused interventions may help reduce scabiesrelated healthcare burden