Increased Severe Adverse Outcomes and Decreased Emergency Room Visits for Pyelonephritis: First Report of Collateral Damage during COVID-19 Pandemic in Urology.

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is disrupting urology health-care worldwide. Reduced emergency room visits resulting in adverse outcomes have most recently been reported in pediatrics and cardiology. We aimed to compare patients with emergency room visits for pyelonephritis in 2019 (pre-COVID-19 era) and within the first wave of pandemic in 2020 (COVID-19 era) with regard to the number of visits and severe adverse disease outcomes. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We performed a retrospective multicentre study comparing characteristics and outcomes of patients with pyelonephritis, excluding patients with hydroneph…