Acute Appendicitis During the COVID‐19 5^th wave Pandemic in a Local Cluster: A retrospective cohort study

Introduction

Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency. We aim to determine if there is any delay in patients attending the emergency department and thus increase in the rate of complicated appendicitis and post‐operative complications during to COVID‐19 5^th wave in a local cluster in Hong Kong.

Methods

In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed 138 patients who were diagnosed with acute appendicitis during the period of COVID ‐19 5^th wave and pre‐COVID period. The main study parameters included the duration between symptoms onset and attendance to Accident and Emergency Department (AED), severity of appendicitis, any post‐operative complications, operation time and total hospital length of stay.

Results

There was no delay in presentation between the two groups of patients. The rate of complicated appendicitis and post operative complications was comparable between the two groups. There was a significant shorter length of stay for acute appendicitis patients during the 5^th wave.

Conclusion

General public's perspective towards COVID‐19 pandemic is changing. More understanding of the COVID‐19 infection and availability of antiviral medications towards COVID‐19 could be useful to eliminate patient's anxiety when attending medical care in public hospitals.

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