Comparison of the investigation and treatment of acute appendicitis in our surgical department during the pre-pandemic period of COVID-19 and in the III. pandemic wave

Introduction. Appendicitis is one of the most common causes of acute abdominal surgical indications. WHO declared the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus infection a pandemic on the 11.03.2020., affecting all segments of healthcare. Management of the acute cases also faced new challenges as a result of the restrictive measures taken during the pandemic, affecting the population and healthcare providers. In our surgical department, during the medical care of those diagnosed with acute appendicitis, in the absence of uniform professional protocols, we often required individual considerations. In the absence of universal professional guidelines, during the medical care of those who had been diagnosed with acute appendicitis we often required individual considerations in our surgical department. Aim. the comparison of the time elapsed between the onset of the symptoms and the time the patients arrived to our surgical department, the frequency of hospitalisation and the frequency and difference between postoperative complications in patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis during the pre-pandemic period of SARS-CoV-2 and the III. wave of COVID-19. Methods. in our retrospective analysis we included those more than 18-years old patients who were diagnosed with the clinic-radiological picture of acute appendicitis during the pre-pandemic 6 months (16. 09. 2019. – 16. 03. 2020.) and the III. wave of COVID-19 (01. 11. 2020. – 01. 04. 2021.). We compared the length of time between the onset of symptoms and the beginning of hospitalisation, the complexity of appendicitis, the method of surgery used, the duration of hospitalisation and the development of postoperative complications. Statistical significance was examined by t-test and Fischer-test. Results. 64 patients were included, 47 in the pre-pandemic period and 17 in the III. wave of COVID-19. During the pandemic, the number of people diagnosed with acute appendicitis showed a declining trend, however the incidence of complicated appendicitis increased (26% « 35%). In the III. wave of COVID-19, the time between the onset of symptoms and the examination was 27,3 h longer on average (P = 0.275), the hospitalisation was 17.3 h longer (P = 0.412) and the postoperative complications (2.12% « 23.5%) and surgical conversions (0% « 21%) were also significantly different (P = 0.264), but there was no significant correlation in either case. Conclusion. although there was no significant correlation in our analysis, it appears that during the pandemic, patients sought medical attention later and with more severe symptoms, resulting in progression of acute appendicitis.