Incidence of surgical abdominal emergencies during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Since the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, we have experienced a reduction in admissions in our Service and a decrease in urgent surgical activity. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence of potentially surgical abdominal emergency in our center during the epidemic of COVID-19.

A retrospective study was designed. It included all patients admitted for urgent abdominal pathology with potential surgical treatment in our General and Digestive Surgery Department from February 24, 2020 to April 19, 2020.

Eighty-nine patients with a mean age of 58.85±22.2 were included. The median time from symptom onset to the Emergency Department (ED) visit was 48 (P₂₅-P₇₅ = 24-96) hours. On arrival at the ED, 18 (20%) patients presented with systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria. Fifty-one (57%) surgical procedures were performed. The rate of post-surgical complications at 30 days was 31% and the mortality rate was 2%. Concerning the same period from 2017 to 2019, the mean number of admissions from the ED to our Department decreased by 14% during the epidemic period.

There has been a decrease in the number of patients admitted for urgent, potentially surgical, abdominal pathology during the period of the COVID-19 epidemic in our center.