Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South Korea
<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought serious changes in healthcare systems worldwide, some of which have affected patients who need emergency surgery. Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical disease requiring emergency surgery. This study was perform...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/58/6/783 |
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| author | Yun Suk Choi Jin Wook Yi Chris Tae Young Chung Woo Young Shin Sun Keun Choi Yoon Seok Heo |
| author_facet | Yun Suk Choi Jin Wook Yi Chris Tae Young Chung Woo Young Shin Sun Keun Choi Yoon Seok Heo |
| author_sort | Yun Suk Choi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought serious changes in healthcare systems worldwide, some of which have affected patients who need emergency surgery. Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical disease requiring emergency surgery. This study was performed to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the treatment of patients with acute appendicitis in South Korea. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: We retrospectively reviewed a medical database that included patients who underwent surgery for acute appendicitis in our hospital from January 2019 to May 2021. We classified the patients into two groups according to whether they were treated before or after the COVID pandemic and 10 March 2020 was used as the cutoff date, which is when the World Health Organization declared the COVID pandemic. <i>Results</i>: A total of 444 patients were included in the “Pre-COVID-19” group and 393 patients were included in the “COVID-19” group. In the “COVID-19” group, the proportion of patients with severe morbidity was significantly lower. The time that the patients spent in the emergency room before surgery was significantly longer in the ”COVID-19” group (519.11 ± 486.57 min vs. 705.27 ± 512.59 min; <i>p</i>-value < 0.001). There was no difference observed in the severity of appendicitis or in the extent of surgery between the two groups. <i>Conclusions</i>: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a statistically significant time delay (186.16 min) was needed to confirm COVID-19 infection status. However, there was no clinical difference in the severity of appendicitis or in the extent of surgery. To ensure the safety of patients and medical staff, a COVID-19 PCR test should be performed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:06:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2693c288064f4406b69540a782d6fa04 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:06:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-2693c288064f4406b69540a782d6fa042023-11-23T17:52:31ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442022-06-0158678310.3390/medicina58060783Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South KoreaYun Suk Choi0Jin Wook Yi1Chris Tae Young Chung2Woo Young Shin3Sun Keun Choi4Yoon Seok Heo5Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Incheon 400-711, KoreaDepartment of Surgery, College of Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Incheon 400-711, KoreaDepartment of Surgery, College of Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Incheon 400-711, KoreaDepartment of Surgery, College of Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Incheon 400-711, KoreaDepartment of Surgery, College of Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Incheon 400-711, KoreaDepartment of Surgery, College of Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Incheon 400-711, Korea<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought serious changes in healthcare systems worldwide, some of which have affected patients who need emergency surgery. Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical disease requiring emergency surgery. This study was performed to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the treatment of patients with acute appendicitis in South Korea. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: We retrospectively reviewed a medical database that included patients who underwent surgery for acute appendicitis in our hospital from January 2019 to May 2021. We classified the patients into two groups according to whether they were treated before or after the COVID pandemic and 10 March 2020 was used as the cutoff date, which is when the World Health Organization declared the COVID pandemic. <i>Results</i>: A total of 444 patients were included in the “Pre-COVID-19” group and 393 patients were included in the “COVID-19” group. In the “COVID-19” group, the proportion of patients with severe morbidity was significantly lower. The time that the patients spent in the emergency room before surgery was significantly longer in the ”COVID-19” group (519.11 ± 486.57 min vs. 705.27 ± 512.59 min; <i>p</i>-value < 0.001). There was no difference observed in the severity of appendicitis or in the extent of surgery between the two groups. <i>Conclusions</i>: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a statistically significant time delay (186.16 min) was needed to confirm COVID-19 infection status. However, there was no clinical difference in the severity of appendicitis or in the extent of surgery. To ensure the safety of patients and medical staff, a COVID-19 PCR test should be performed.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/58/6/783appendicitisCOVID-19emergencies |
| spellingShingle | Yun Suk Choi Jin Wook Yi Chris Tae Young Chung Woo Young Shin Sun Keun Choi Yoon Seok Heo Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South Korea Medicina appendicitis COVID-19 emergencies |
| title | Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South Korea |
| title_full | Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South Korea |
| title_fullStr | Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South Korea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South Korea |
| title_short | Clinical Experience of Emergency Appendectomy under the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Single Institution in South Korea |
| title_sort | clinical experience of emergency appendectomy under the covid 19 pandemic in a single institution in south korea |
| topic | appendicitis COVID-19 emergencies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/58/6/783 |
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