Evaluation of patients admitted to the emergency department during religious holidays

Aim: To determine the characteristics of emergency department (ED) presentations during the Ramadan Feast and Feast of Sacrifice.Materials and Methods: We compared the patients that presented to the ED during the public holiday for the Feast of Sacrifice and the Ramadan Feast in 2018 and 2019.Results: During the study periods, 37737 people presented to the ED. Compared to the non-holiday time, the patients presenting during the Feast of Sacrifice increased by 14.4%, and those presenting during the Ramadan Feast increased by 9.8% (p<0.001 for both). While there was an increase in hospitalized patients in both holiday periods, this rate was statistically significant only for Feast of Sacrifice (20.8%, p=0.0008). The number of consultations decreased by 5.6% during the Feast of Sacrifice and increased by 12.8% during the Ramadan Feast (p=0.0002).Conclusion: ED presentations increased during the long religious holiday. While the number of consultations decreased during the Feast of Sacrifice, they increased during the Ramadan Feast.