Treatment of acute appendicitis in children during COVID-19 pandemic

Cilj studije bio je istražiti je li COVID-19 pandemija uzrokovala povećanu incidenciju kompliciranog apendicitisa zbog kasne prezentacije u bolnicu u usporedbi s razdobljem prije COVID-19 pandemije. Akutni apendicitis jedan je od najčešćih hitnih kirurških stanja. Tijekom COVID-19 pandemije došlo je do prijava zakašnjelog dolaska u bolnicu nekih hitnoća. Ukupno 266 pedijatrijskih pacijenata je u KBC Rijeka bilo podvrgnuto kirurškom liječenju zbog sumnje na akutni appendicitis od ožujka 2018. do ožujka 2022. Pacijenti su bili podijeljeni u dvije skupine: prvu skupinu činili su pacijenti koji su bili operirani prije početka pandemije COVID-19 (n=154), dok su drugu skupinu činili oni koji su išli na operaciju tijekom COVID-19 pandemije (n= 112). Primarna svrha ovog rada bila je usporedba incidencije perforacije crvuljka prije i tijekom pojave COVID-19 infekcije. Ukupno su dijagnosticirana 58 bolesnika (21,8%) sa perforacijom apendiksa. Pronađena je slaba značajnost u stopi perforiranog apendicitisa između razdoblja prije COVID- 19 (22,1%) i COVID-19 ere (21,4%). Nije uočena nikakva značajna razlika u komplikacijama akutnog apendicitisa prije i tijekom COVID-19 pandemije u KBC Rijeka.This study looks into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the incidence of complicated appendicitis. This was perfomed by comparing the treatment and the hospitalization characteristics in the period before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical conditions. In the period between March 2018 and March 2022, 266 pediatric patients have received surgical treatment due to suspicion of acute appendicitis. In this study two groups of patients were observed. One group included the data of patients who underwent surgery before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 154), the second group consisted of those who underwent surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 112). The results show that 58 patients (21.8%) have developed and were diagnosed with the perforation. No significant difference has been noticed in the rate of perforated appendicitis between the period before COVID-19 (22.1%) and COVID-19 era (21.4%). Furthermore, no significant contrast was noticed in other complications of acute appendicitis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Rijeka Clinical Hospita