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Acute Biliary Pancreatitis Management during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic
Elif Çolak1, Ahmet Burak Çiftci1
1Department of General Surgery, Samsun University, Samsun Training and Research Hospital, Samsun 55090, Turkey.
Insights
During the COVID-19 pandemic, acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) cases decreased, but patient severity and mortality significantly increased. Further multicenter research is needed to guide management strategies for acute biliary pancreatitis during pandemics.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Surgical Gastroenterology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic impacted healthcare delivery globally.
- Acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) management may have been altered during this period.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze and describe the management of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To compare patient outcomes between a pre-pandemic control period and the pandemic period.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study comparing two 12-month periods: March 2019-March 2020 (control) and March 2020-March 2021 (COVID-19).
- Included 89 patients diagnosed with acute biliary pancreatitis.
- Analyzed demographic data, severity scores (Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, World Society of Emergency Surgery Sepsis Severity Score), interventions (cholecystectomy), and mortality rates.
Main Results:
- A reduction in ABP patient numbers was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic period (31 patients vs. 58 in control period).
- Patients during the COVID-19 period had significantly higher severity scores.
- Hospital mortality rate increased significantly during the COVID-19 period (19.3% vs. 3.4% in control period).
- No significant difference in surgical interventions like cholecystectomy was noted between the periods.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with fewer acute biliary pancreatitis cases but increased disease severity and mortality.
- Further multicenter studies with larger cohorts are necessary to establish robust evidence for managing ABP during pandemics.
Abstract:
(1) Objective: We aimed to analyze and describe the management of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (2) Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study among patients with ABP during a control period (16 March 2019 to 15 March 2020; period 1) and a COVID-19 period (16 March 2020 to 15 March 2021; period 2). (3) Results: We included 89 patients with ABP, being 58 in period 1 and 31 in period 2. The mean patient age was 62.75 ± 16.59 years, and 51 (57.3%) patients were women. The Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score for sepsis and World Society of Emergency Surgery Sepsis Severity Score were significantly higher among patients in period 2. Twenty-two patients (37.9%) in period 1 and six (19.3%) in period 2 underwent cholecystectomy. There were no significant differences in surgical interventions between the two periods. The hospital mortality rate was 3.4 and 19.3% in period 1 and period 2, respectively. Mortality was significantly higher in period 2. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed a significant reduction in the number of patients with ABP but increased severity and mortality. Multicenter studies with more patients are needed to obtain additional evidence regarding ABP management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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