COVID-19 outbreak and acute appendicitis: Does the lockdown has a influence on appendectomies?-A single center retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Healthcare systems have been negatively affected from COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Elective surgical procedures were postponed and conservative treatment options were considered even in urgent conditions. This study aimed to explore the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on urgent appendectomy in a pandemic hospital.

Material and methods: Patients on whom appendectomy was performed between March 2020- June 2020 were included into the study (pandemic group). For comparison, control group patients were selected in the same period of 2019 (control group). Patients' demographics, laboratory and radiological findings, length of hospital stay, complications and histopathological findings of the groups were compared.

Results: Forty-six patients were included in pandemic group and and one hundred-one in the control group. Patient characteristics were similar in both groups. There were no significant differences in type of surgery, complications, laboratory and histopathological findings. In the control group, length of hospital stay was longer when compared with the pandemic group.

Conclusion: Although the number of appendectomies performed decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, perioperative parameters were similar in both groups.