Background: This study investigated whether there was a change in acute appendicitis, appendicectomy admissions or disease severity during the 2020 lockdown period in NSW.
Methods: A retrospective before-and-after study was undertaken of patients admitted to two Sydney hospitals (St. Vincent's and Liverpool Hospitals) who had appendicectomy for presumed acute appendicitis and patients who had confirmed appendicitis but did not undergo surgery. Study periods were the 2020 lockdown period (15 March-15 May 2020), the corresponding period in the previous year, and the 1-month after these periods. Patients were classified as having no, mild or severe appendicitis using operation and histopathological reports.
Results: (Thirty-six percent) fewer patients were admitted with acute appendicitis during the lockdown period compared with the previous year with a substantial reduction in normal/mild appendicitis presentations (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.34-0.93, P = 0.03). There were 46% fewer patients with mild appendicitis during lockdown (56) compared with the previous year (103); numbers of patients with severe appendicitis were very similar (46 vs. 51). There was no increase in number of admissions with severe appendicitis, or in the time from onset of symptoms to admission, in the month following lockdown.
Conclusion: Compared with the previous year, there were markedly fewer admissions with appendicitis during lockdown, with no evidence of a shift to more cases of severe appendicitis nor delayed presentation in the post-lockdown period. It is plausible that some patients with mild appendicitis may have recovered without hospitalization, supporting the importance of implementing trials on non-surgical management of appendicitis.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ans.17793 | DOI Listing |
Cureus
December 2024
Colorectal Surgery, Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, Braselton, USA.
Omental infarction is a rare cause of acute abdomen, often mimicking more common abdominal emergencies such as appendicitis and cholecystitis, presenting significant diagnostic challenges. A 47-year-old male with a history of ulcerative colitis underwent laparoscopic total colectomy with end ileostomy. Postoperatively, he developed severe abdominal pain, chills, nausea, and increased abdominal distension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRheumatol Adv Pract
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Dokkyo Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
Graphical Abstract.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurg Pract Sci
June 2024
Division of Trauma Surgery, Department of Traumatology, University Hospital Zurich, University Zurich, Switzerland.
Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute virus infection, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The Swiss government decreed a public lockdown to reduce and restrict further infections. The aim of this investigation was to analyze the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on the performance of general and visceral surgery procedures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576104, Karnataka, India.
BMJ Open Qual
January 2025
Quality Improvement Coach, University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
Ultrasound is a first-line and often preferred imaging modality in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. When the appendix is not visualised during a dedicated appendix ultrasound study, patients may require a CT study, which uses ionising radiation, or undergo conservative clinical observation with the inherent risk of clinical deterioration, perforation and sepsis. Median baseline data, at our hospital imaging department, revealed a rate of combined normal and abnormal appendix visualisation of 34.
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