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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute appendicitis in children

C Delgado-Miguel1, J Garcia Urbán2, C Del Monte Ferrer2

  • 1Department of Pediatric Surgery, La Paz Children's Hospital, Madrid, Spain.

Journal of Healthcare Quality Research
|January 12, 2022
PubMed

Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic led to delayed emergency department visits for pediatric appendicitis, resulting in more complicated cases, longer hospital stays, and increased postoperative complications in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Surgery
  • Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant decrease in pediatric emergency department visits.
  • Parental fear of hospital-acquired infection likely contributed to reduced healthcare seeking behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the medium-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children diagnosed with acute appendicitis.
  • To evaluate changes in appendicitis management and outcomes during the pandemic.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study comparing children operated for acute appendicitis before (control) and after (COVID-19 group) March 9, 2020.
  • Analysis of demographic data, symptoms, time to treatment, hospital stay, and complication rates.

Main Results:

  • The COVID-19 group showed a significantly longer time from symptom onset to treatment (34.5 vs. 24.2 hours).
  • A higher rate of complicated acute appendicitis (20.1% vs. 14%) was observed in the COVID-19 group.
  • Increased hospital stay (3.5 vs. 2.8 days) and higher postoperative complication rates (21.5% vs. 15.7%) were noted in the COVID-19 group.

Conclusions:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic had negative medium-term effects on pediatric acute appendicitis cases.
  • Delayed emergency department visits contributed to increased complications and poorer outcomes for children with appendicitis during the pandemic.
Abstract

Keywords:
ApendicitisAppendicitisCOVID-19ChildrenComplicaciones postoperatoriasNiñosPostoperative ComplicationsSARS-CoV-2

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