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. 2022 May-Jun;36(3):1325-1332.
doi: 10.21873/invivo.12833.

Acute Appendicitis During Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Increasing Incidence of Complicate Appendicitis, Severity and Length of Hospitalization

Marco Pellicciaro  1 , Gianluca Vanni  2 , Simona Grande  1 , Marco Materazzo  1 , Francesca Santori  1 , Tatiana DI Cesare  3 , Matteo Ciancio Manuelli  3 , Daniele Sforza  3 , Massimo Villa  1 , Dario Venditti  1 , Michele Grande  1
Affiliations

Acute Appendicitis During Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Increasing Incidence of Complicate Appendicitis, Severity and Length of Hospitalization

Marco Pellicciaro et al. In Vivo. 2022 May-Jun.

Abstract

Background/aim: COVID-19 is rapidly spreading, and due to the high morbidity and mortality caused by the pandemic many Governments have introduced social restrictions. Those measures combined with infection-related patient anxiety, led to hiding other diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on numbers and severity of acute appendicitis cases referred during the pandemic.

Patients and methods: Between March 2019 and March 2021, all patients who underwent appendectomy in Tor Vergata Hospital, Rome were included. Patients were divided in two groups (COVID-19/pre-COVID-19). Clinical features, intraoperative findings, hospital stay, and histologic examination data were included in the retrospective analysis.

Results: Out of 334 admitted patients, 36 (10.7%) had a diagnosis of acute appendicitis (COVID-19 group) vs. 59(11.2%) in the pre-COVID-19 group. The COVID-19 group presented significantly longer hospitalization, incidence of appendicular abscess, perforation, and severity of inflammation at univariate analysis p=0.002, p=0.021, p=0.001, p=0.006, p=0.001, respectively. At multivariate analysis, appendicular abscess (p=0.015) and higher serum levels of C reactive protein (p<0.008) were associated with prolonged hospital stay.

Conclusion: This study highlights the correlation between COVID-19 pandemic and the severity of acute appendicitis presentations.

Keywords: Acute appendicitis; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; appendectomy; occult disease; peritonitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The Authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this study.

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