Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35490051›Full record

Observational studyJournal of pediatric surgery2022

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on management and outcomes of children with appendicitis: The Children with AppendicitiS during the CoronAvirus panDEmic (CASCADE) study.

George S Bethell, Tom Gosling, Clare M Rees, Jonathan Sutcliffe, Nigel J Hall, CASCADE Study Collaborators and the RIFT Study Collaborators

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of pediatric surgery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Observational
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Review
  6. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

George S BethellUniversity Surgery Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
Tom GoslingUniversity Surgery Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
Clare M ReesDepartment of Paediatric Surgery, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
Jonathan SutcliffeDepartment of Paediatric Surgery, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK.
Nigel J HallUniversity Surgery Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK; Department of Paediatric Surgery and Urology, Southampton Children's Hospital, Southampton, UK. Electronic address: n.j.hall@soton.ac.uk.
CASCADE Study Collaborators and the RIFT Study Collaborators

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo report the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on management and outcomes of paediatric appendicitis in the UK and Ireland.

methodsProspective, multicentre observational cohort study at general surgical and specialist paediatric surgical centres in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 1st April to 31st July 2020. Primary outcome was treatment strategy used for acute appendicitis.

resultsThis study includes 2002 children treated for acute appendicitis of a median age of 10 (range 1-15) years and 605 children from a similar data set pre pandemic from 2017. In the pandemic cohort 560/2002(28%) were initially treated non operatively of whom 125/560(22%) proceeded to appendicectomy within initial hospital admission. Non operative treatment wasn't used in the pre pandemic cohort. Diagnostic imaging use was greater during the pandemic compared to pre pandemic (54vs31%; p < 0.00001) but overall use of laparoscopy was similar during both time periods (62.4vs66.6%). Hospital readmission rate was lower (8.7vs13.9%; p = 0.0002) during the pandemic than pre pandemic and Re-intervention rate was similar (2.9vs2.6%;p = 0.42). In cases treated operatively negative appendicectomy rate was lower during the pandemic than pre pandemic (4.4vs15.4%; p =0.0001), and during the pandemic was amongst the lowest ever reported in the UK.

conclusionCOVID-19 has had a significant impact on the management of children with appendicitis in the UK and Ireland. The rate of imaging and the use of non operative management increased, whilst the negative appendicectomy rate reduced. Overall, patient outcomes have not been adversely impacted by change in management during the pandemic.

conclusionLevel I. TYPE OF STUDY: Prognosis study.

Indexed as

AppendicitisCOVID-19AdolescentAppendectomyChildChild, PreschoolHumansInfantPandemicsProspective StudiesSARS-CoV-2AppendicitisCOVID-19Negative appendicectomyOutcomes

Identifiers

PMID35490051
PMCPMC8976578

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.