Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Eras
Background: The restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with people’s avoidance of hospital exposure, led to a reduction in medical consultations and delays in care seeking. Numerous reports have shown a decrease in the number of appendectomies performed and an increased incidence of compli...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Mohammed Bu Bshait Ahmed Kamal Abdullah Almaqhawi Ahmad Al Abdulqader Haytham Alarfaj Mohammed Albarqi Nawaf Al Khashram Nora AlMssallem Fatimah Aljalal Sara Aljaafari Abtesam Alnaim Sharifah Alzabdawi Ahmad Odeh |
| author_facet | Mohammed Bu Bshait Ahmed Kamal Abdullah Almaqhawi Ahmad Al Abdulqader Haytham Alarfaj Mohammed Albarqi Nawaf Al Khashram Nora AlMssallem Fatimah Aljalal Sara Aljaafari Abtesam Alnaim Sharifah Alzabdawi Ahmad Odeh |
| author_sort | Mohammed Bu Bshait |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with people’s avoidance of hospital exposure, led to a reduction in medical consultations and delays in care seeking. Numerous reports have shown a decrease in the number of appendectomies performed and an increased incidence of complicated appendicitis during the pandemic. We aimed to investigate these findings during and after the cessation of COVID-19-related restrictions. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in a single centre, including consecutive adult patients who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis during three different periods: the pandemic cohort (7 March–30 June 2020), the post-pandemic cohort (7 March–30 June 2022) and the pre-pandemic control cohort (7 March–30 June 2019). A total of 103 patients were included and divided into the three cohorts. The patients’ demographics, clinical presentation, investigations, and operative data were compared. Results: The three groups did not differ significantly regarding demographics, clinical characteristics, or the number of appendectomies. However, a duration of symptoms at presentation of less than 2 days was significantly more frequent in the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic groups than the pandemic group (<i>p</i> = 0.001). The interval between admission and operation was significantly shorter in the post-pandemic group than in the pandemic group. The pandemic group also showed a higher incidence of complicated appendicitis compared to the others (<i>p</i> = 0.025). Conclusions: The termination of the COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions promoted the earlier presentation of acute appendicitis cases and lowered the incidence of complicated appendicitis. This emphasises the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute appendicitis. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2079-9721 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Diseases |
| spelling | doaj-art-af0b598746ee4de89e8ef5a35161c43d2025-08-20T01:53:45ZengMDPI AGDiseases2079-97212024-11-01121127010.3390/diseases12110270Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic ErasMohammed Bu Bshait0Ahmed Kamal1Abdullah Almaqhawi2Ahmad Al Abdulqader3Haytham Alarfaj4Mohammed Albarqi5Nawaf Al Khashram6Nora AlMssallem7Fatimah Aljalal8Sara Aljaafari9Abtesam Alnaim10Sharifah Alzabdawi11Ahmad Odeh12Departments of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartments of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartments of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartments of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Surgery, Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Hospital, Alahsa 36377, Saudi ArabiaBackground: The restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with people’s avoidance of hospital exposure, led to a reduction in medical consultations and delays in care seeking. Numerous reports have shown a decrease in the number of appendectomies performed and an increased incidence of complicated appendicitis during the pandemic. We aimed to investigate these findings during and after the cessation of COVID-19-related restrictions. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in a single centre, including consecutive adult patients who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis during three different periods: the pandemic cohort (7 March–30 June 2020), the post-pandemic cohort (7 March–30 June 2022) and the pre-pandemic control cohort (7 March–30 June 2019). A total of 103 patients were included and divided into the three cohorts. The patients’ demographics, clinical presentation, investigations, and operative data were compared. Results: The three groups did not differ significantly regarding demographics, clinical characteristics, or the number of appendectomies. However, a duration of symptoms at presentation of less than 2 days was significantly more frequent in the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic groups than the pandemic group (<i>p</i> = 0.001). The interval between admission and operation was significantly shorter in the post-pandemic group than in the pandemic group. The pandemic group also showed a higher incidence of complicated appendicitis compared to the others (<i>p</i> = 0.025). Conclusions: The termination of the COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions promoted the earlier presentation of acute appendicitis cases and lowered the incidence of complicated appendicitis. This emphasises the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute appendicitis.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/12/11/270acute appendicitiscomplicated appendicitisCOVID-19pandemicpost-pandemic |
| spellingShingle | Mohammed Bu Bshait Ahmed Kamal Abdullah Almaqhawi Ahmad Al Abdulqader Haytham Alarfaj Mohammed Albarqi Nawaf Al Khashram Nora AlMssallem Fatimah Aljalal Sara Aljaafari Abtesam Alnaim Sharifah Alzabdawi Ahmad Odeh Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Eras Diseases acute appendicitis complicated appendicitis COVID-19 pandemic post-pandemic |
| title | Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Eras |
| title_full | Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Eras |
| title_fullStr | Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Eras |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Eras |
| title_short | Changes in the Presentation and Severity of Acute Appendicitis: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Eras |
| title_sort | changes in the presentation and severity of acute appendicitis a comparison of the covid 19 pandemic and post pandemic eras |
| topic | acute appendicitis complicated appendicitis COVID-19 pandemic post-pandemic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/12/11/270 |
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