Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 62. No. 4, 2023.
Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2023.62.04.19
Management of Acute Appendicitis during COVID-19 Pandemic in Croatia: a Single-Center Study
Goran Glavčić Glavčić
; Department of Surgery, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
*
Zvonimir Misir
; Department of Surgery, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Suzana Janković
; Department of Surgery, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Zdenko Bilić
; Department of Surgery, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Petra Radulović
; Ljudevit Jurak Department of Pathology and Cytology, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Nina Blažević
; Department of Internal Medicine, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Marin Glavčić
; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia (student)
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
the number of patients presenting to the emergency room with acute appendicitis and subsequent
results of surgical treatment. Our single center retrospective study was conducted in Sestre milosrdnice
University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia. We analyzed data on the patients diagnosed with
acute appendicitis, their duration of symptoms, length of hospital stay, histopathologic diagnosis, and
operative techniques, recorded from September 1, 2019 to October 17, 2020. The results showed a
statistically significant increase in the ratio of open laparotomies (p=0.006) and ratio of perforated
appendicitis (p=0.047) during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the pre-pandemic period. The
time between symptom onset and hospitalization, measured in days, did not demonstrate a statistically
significant increase (p=0.379), and minor increase in the postoperative length of stay was not statistically
significant either (p=0.879).
Keywords
Appendicitis; Emergency surgery; COVID-19; Pandemic
Hrčak ID:
320593
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2023.
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