Marjorie N Odegard, Olivia A Keane, Shadassa A Ourshalimian, Christopher J Russell, William G Lee, Makayla L O'Guinn, Laura M C Houshmand, Lorraine I Kelley-Quon
{"title":"Clinical outcomes of children with COVID-19 and appendicitis: a propensity score matched analysis.","authors":"Marjorie N Odegard, Olivia A Keane, Shadassa A Ourshalimian, Christopher J Russell, William G Lee, Makayla L O'Guinn, Laura M C Houshmand, Lorraine I Kelley-Quon","doi":"10.1007/s00383-024-05817-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many children with appendicitis and COVID-19 were initially treated non-operatively and later underwent interval appendectomy. Currently, children with both appendicitis and COVID-19 frequently undergo upfront appendectomy. The impact of this return to upfront surgical management on patient outcomes is unknown. This study compared outcomes of pediatric patients with and without COVID-19 infection undergoing appendectomy.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>A retrospective cohort study of children < 21y who underwent appendectomy from 3/19/2020 to 7/31/2022 at 50 Pediatric Health Information System children's hospitals was conducted. Children with documented COVID-19 were identified. Exclusions included preoperative ventilator or supplemental oxygen dependence, and missing data. To evaluate COVID-19 positive versus COVID-19 negative patients, we used a propensity score matched on sociodemographics, comorbidities, laparoscopy, perforation, and hospital. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests identified differences between groups in length of stay, postoperative drain placement, 30-day re-admission, and mechanical ventilation requirements.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, 51,861 children of median age 11y (IQR: 8-14) underwent appendectomy, of whom 1,440 (2.3%) had COVID-19. Most were male (60.3%), White (72.1%) and non-Hispanic (61.4%). Public insurance was the most common (47.5%). We created a matched cohort of 1,360 COVID-19 positive and 1,360 COVID-19 negative children. Children with COVID-19 had shorter hospitalizations (1d, IQR: 1-4 vs. 2d, IQR: 1-5, p = 0.03), less postoperative peritoneal drain placement (2.4% vs. 4.1%, p = 0.01), and fewer 30-day readmissions (9.0% vs. 11.4%, p = 0.04). However, no difference in incidence or duration of mechanical ventilation (p > 0.05) was detected.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest that upfront appendectomy for children with appendicitis and COVID-19 has similar outcomes compared to children without COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Level of evidence: </strong>Level III.</p>","PeriodicalId":19832,"journal":{"name":"Pediatric Surgery International","volume":"40 1","pages":"266"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11461633/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Pediatric Surgery International","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-024-05817-7","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PEDIATRICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many children with appendicitis and COVID-19 were initially treated non-operatively and later underwent interval appendectomy. Currently, children with both appendicitis and COVID-19 frequently undergo upfront appendectomy. The impact of this return to upfront surgical management on patient outcomes is unknown. This study compared outcomes of pediatric patients with and without COVID-19 infection undergoing appendectomy.
Study design: A retrospective cohort study of children < 21y who underwent appendectomy from 3/19/2020 to 7/31/2022 at 50 Pediatric Health Information System children's hospitals was conducted. Children with documented COVID-19 were identified. Exclusions included preoperative ventilator or supplemental oxygen dependence, and missing data. To evaluate COVID-19 positive versus COVID-19 negative patients, we used a propensity score matched on sociodemographics, comorbidities, laparoscopy, perforation, and hospital. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests identified differences between groups in length of stay, postoperative drain placement, 30-day re-admission, and mechanical ventilation requirements.
Results: Overall, 51,861 children of median age 11y (IQR: 8-14) underwent appendectomy, of whom 1,440 (2.3%) had COVID-19. Most were male (60.3%), White (72.1%) and non-Hispanic (61.4%). Public insurance was the most common (47.5%). We created a matched cohort of 1,360 COVID-19 positive and 1,360 COVID-19 negative children. Children with COVID-19 had shorter hospitalizations (1d, IQR: 1-4 vs. 2d, IQR: 1-5, p = 0.03), less postoperative peritoneal drain placement (2.4% vs. 4.1%, p = 0.01), and fewer 30-day readmissions (9.0% vs. 11.4%, p = 0.04). However, no difference in incidence or duration of mechanical ventilation (p > 0.05) was detected.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that upfront appendectomy for children with appendicitis and COVID-19 has similar outcomes compared to children without COVID-19.
期刊介绍:
Pediatric Surgery International is a journal devoted to the publication of new and important information from the entire spectrum of pediatric surgery. The major purpose of the journal is to promote postgraduate training and further education in the surgery of infants and children.
The contents will include articles in clinical and experimental surgery, as well as related fields. One section of each issue is devoted to a special topic, with invited contributions from recognized authorities. Other sections will include:
-Review articles-
Original articles-
Technical innovations-
Letters to the editor