ArticleBMC surgery2022
Management of acute appendicitis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMC surgery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Two-year outcomes of conservatively managed appendicitis during the COVID-19 pandemic-a multicentre cohort study.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2023Observational
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Severity and Early Postoperative Outcomes of Acute Appendicitis.Cureus · 2023Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic profoundly impacted delivery of health care. South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) experienced some of the highest cases, admissions and deaths during the Delta and Omicron waves in New South Wales. This study aims to determine the impact of the pandemic on emergency surgery services for adults presenting with acute appendicitis.
methodsA retrospective review of patient records was performed of adults presenting with acute appendicitis between 1st March 2021 and 31st March 2022, which was compared to a pre-COVID control period of the same dates in 2019-2020. Patients managed operatively or conservatively were included.
results1556 patients were included in the operative arm; 723 and 833 respectively in the study and control groups, which were comparable at baseline. 1.66% were COVID positive. During the pandemic, patients were significantly more likely to be investigated with computered tomography (CT) scan (p ≤ 0.001), present with complicated appendicitis (p = 0.03), and require caecectomy (p = 0.005). They had higher American Society of Anaesthesiology (ASA) scores (p = 0.001) and significantly lower negative appendectomy rates (p = 0.001). Fifty-two patients were included in the conservative arm; 29 and 23 respectively in the pandemic and control groups. Patients were comparable at baseline. There were two COVID positive patients. During the pandemic, there was a significant reduction in complications (p = 0.033), readmissions (0.044) and interval appendicectomy (p = 0.0044).
conclusionWe identified higher rates of complicated appendicitis, caecectomies and greater reliance on CT imaging preoperatively during the pandemic in SWSLHD.
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