Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis
BackgroundThe literature seems to indicate that the number of appendectomies dropped at the beginning of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic), while the number of complicated appendicitis increased due to late presentation. In addition, a longer delay before surgical treatment resulte...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Surgery |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2022.981885/full |
| _version_ | 1811188108495945728 |
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| author | Marion Poget Roland Chautems Roland Chautems Rémy Kohler Rémy Kohler Michele Diana Michele Diana Alend Saadi Alend Saadi Alend Saadi |
| author_facet | Marion Poget Roland Chautems Roland Chautems Rémy Kohler Rémy Kohler Michele Diana Michele Diana Alend Saadi Alend Saadi Alend Saadi |
| author_sort | Marion Poget |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThe literature seems to indicate that the number of appendectomies dropped at the beginning of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic), while the number of complicated appendicitis increased due to late presentation. In addition, a longer delay before surgical treatment resulted in a higher morbidity. This study aims to compare the number of appendectomies, the severity, and the management of acute appendicitis during the first two pandemic peaks of COVID-19 with those observed during the same seasonal periods in the previous 2 years in a regional hospital in Switzerland.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed and compared the number of appendectomies, rate of complicated appendicitis, delay to consultation and to surgery, distribution of appendectomies over a 24-h schedule, postoperative outcomes, and rates of overall complications in 177 patients, that is, 66 during the COVID-19 pandemic and 111 before the pandemic.ResultsNo statistical difference was found in the number of appendectomies, duration of symptoms before consultation, median time to surgery, number of appendectomies performed outside the usual scheduled time for non-urgent surgery, length of postoperative stay, or the rates of overall complications. However, there was a trend in the rate of complicated appendicitis (p = .05).ConclusionIn spite of a high incidence rate of COVID-19 in our canton, the impact of COVID-19 on our population did not follow the pattern observed elsewhere. The reasons for this might be that people would still present to the emergency department due to less strict social distancing measures. Great availability of emergency operating room may also account for the unchanged delay preceding surgical treatment and complication rates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:13:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a6c0be04e935407b9efcb6bd2979aa66 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-875X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:13:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Surgery |
| spelling | doaj.art-a6c0be04e935407b9efcb6bd2979aa662022-12-22T04:19:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Surgery2296-875X2022-09-01910.3389/fsurg.2022.981885981885Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitisMarion Poget0Roland Chautems1Roland Chautems2Rémy Kohler3Rémy Kohler4Michele Diana5Michele Diana6Alend Saadi7Alend Saadi8Alend Saadi9Surgery Department, Neuchâtel Hospital, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandSurgery Department, Neuchâtel Hospital, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandFaculty of Medicine, Geneva University, Geneva, SwitzerlandSurgery Department, Neuchâtel Hospital, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandSurgery Department, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, SwitzerlandIRCAD, Research Institute Against Cancer of the Digestive System, Strasbourg, FranceSurgery Department, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, FranceSurgery Department, Neuchâtel Hospital, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandObesity and Metabolic Diseases Center, Neuchâtel Hospital, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandFaculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandBackgroundThe literature seems to indicate that the number of appendectomies dropped at the beginning of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic), while the number of complicated appendicitis increased due to late presentation. In addition, a longer delay before surgical treatment resulted in a higher morbidity. This study aims to compare the number of appendectomies, the severity, and the management of acute appendicitis during the first two pandemic peaks of COVID-19 with those observed during the same seasonal periods in the previous 2 years in a regional hospital in Switzerland.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed and compared the number of appendectomies, rate of complicated appendicitis, delay to consultation and to surgery, distribution of appendectomies over a 24-h schedule, postoperative outcomes, and rates of overall complications in 177 patients, that is, 66 during the COVID-19 pandemic and 111 before the pandemic.ResultsNo statistical difference was found in the number of appendectomies, duration of symptoms before consultation, median time to surgery, number of appendectomies performed outside the usual scheduled time for non-urgent surgery, length of postoperative stay, or the rates of overall complications. However, there was a trend in the rate of complicated appendicitis (p = .05).ConclusionIn spite of a high incidence rate of COVID-19 in our canton, the impact of COVID-19 on our population did not follow the pattern observed elsewhere. The reasons for this might be that people would still present to the emergency department due to less strict social distancing measures. Great availability of emergency operating room may also account for the unchanged delay preceding surgical treatment and complication rates.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2022.981885/fullappendicitisseverityappendectomyCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2 |
| spellingShingle | Marion Poget Roland Chautems Roland Chautems Rémy Kohler Rémy Kohler Michele Diana Michele Diana Alend Saadi Alend Saadi Alend Saadi Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis Frontiers in Surgery appendicitis severity appendectomy COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| title | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis |
| title_full | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis |
| title_fullStr | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis |
| title_short | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis |
| title_sort | impact of the covid 19 pandemic on the severity and management of acute appendicitis |
| topic | appendicitis severity appendectomy COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2022.981885/full |
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