SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego emergency room doctors have seen a steady flow of COVID-19 patients, but they have also seen a decrease in other serious cases.
Urgent care facilities said the number of patients has dropped my more than 50% since March.
"We've actually seen quite a reduction in the number of patients who have gone to the emergency department,” said Dr. Eric Lovell, emergency physician for Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group.
Lovell said he is not seeing nearly the same amount of patients in serious condition coming in for treatment during the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's like, where did those patients go? And the fact is some of them are staying home ignoring these serious symptoms,” Lovell said.
Lovell said many are following strict stay-at-home orders, which is good to decrease virus spread, but the consequence is many are overlooking severe health signs sending hospital visits in a decline.
“Many of the local emergency departments and urgent cares have seen a substantial drop during the first month of the pandemic with about a 50 to 70% reduction locally in the ERs and the urgent cares,” Lovell said.
Thomas Doyle, a 73-year-old Rancho Bernardo resident, recently had shortness of breath while taking his dog for a walk.
"I tried to take a walk to get myself into shape, and I only got about a block, and I was shot, so I thought I had COVID,” Doyle said.
Doyle’s wife, however, thought otherwise.
"My wife interjected and said “this is not COVID, this is your heart,'" he said.
Doyle called his doctor at Sharp-Rees Stealy and did a Tele-Medicine call before a nurse told him to come in right away, but Doyle had some doubts due to hospitals dealing with coronavirus.
He has no history of heart trouble and was relieved the emergency room wasn't full at all.
"I didn't see any other patients. I was totally isolated from other patients. The only people I saw were hospital personnel," Doyle said.
Dr. Lovell diagnosed Doyle with a life-threatening blood clot in his lung.
"He required immediate hospitalizing and a special procedure and injections of medication to dissolve this blood clot. This massive blood clot in his lung would kill most patients," Lovell said.
But Doyle’s a fighter and was treated starting Wednesday and home by Saturday.
"I’m feeling great. I'm back to doing my exercises, unbelievable,” Doyle said.
Doctors said Doyle’s quick and full recovery is a testimony to the need to seek medical care sooner than later, and they urge all to beware of unusual symptoms.
RELATED: How accurate are thermometers?