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Effect of the pandemic on the presentation and management of patients with acute appendicitis at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Saudi Arabia

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Last updated: 05 Jan 2025

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Abstract

Background: The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to significant changes in global
healthcare systems, with a particular emphasis on prioritizing COVID-19 patients, even in emergency surgical scenarios.
This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the presentation and management of acute appendicitis cases in
Saudi Arabia.
Patients and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) from
March 2019 to March 2021, encompassing all patients with appendicitis during this time frame. The data collected
included demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, time taken before seeking medical help,
diagnostic approaches, treatment strategies, postoperative complications, and hospital stay duration.
Results: A total of 238 patients with acute appendicitis were hospitalized during the study, with a predominance of male
patients (59.7%). Of these, 72.3% (174) were admitted during the pandemic period. Perforated appendicitis was diagnosed
in 25 (10.5%) individuals. There were no significant differences observed between pre- and postpandemic periods
concerning the time from presentation to surgery (P=0.741), postoperative complications (P=0.563), ICU admissions
(P=0.637), readmissions (P=0.234), and overall length of hospital stay (P=0.228). However, notable associations were
noted in blood loss (P<0.001) and postoperative length of stay (P=0.021) between the two periods.
Conclusion: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no discernible differences in the duration from presentation
to surgery, complications, ICU admissions, readmissions, and total length of hospital stay compared with the pre-pandemic period.

DOI

10.21608/EJSUR.2024.277284.1029

Keywords

abdominal pain, Appendectomy, Complications, Coronavirus disease 2019, hospital length of stay

Authors

First Name

Moaz

Last Name

Abulfaraj

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

mabolafaraj@kau.edu.sa

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Jumana

Last Name

Akbar

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

jumanakbar@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Ashraf

Last Name

Maghrabi

MiddleName

A

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

ashrafmaghrabi@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Sara

Last Name

Mozahim

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

sara.mozzahim@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Reema

Last Name

Alzahrani

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

reema.saleh123@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Lamiaa

Last Name

Alqahtani

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

lamiaa2020g@email.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Shahad

Last Name

Alahmadi

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

shahadali9669@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Haneen

Last Name

Rahbini

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

haneenorahbini@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Waad

Last Name

Alalwani

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

kibauikb@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Wisam

Last Name

Jamal

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

-

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Omar

Last Name

Iskanderani

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Email

oflskanderani@kau.edu.sa

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-9144-9174

Volume

43

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

48897

Issue Date

2024-07-01

Receive Date

2024-07-07

Publish Date

2024-07-01

Page Start

1,077

Page End

1,082

Print ISSN

1110-1121

Online ISSN

1687-7624

Article File

EJSUR_Volume 43_Issue 3_Pages 1077-1082.pdf

PDF . 299.0kB

Link

https://ejsur.journals.ekb.eg/article_365480.html

Detail API

https://ejsur.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=365480

Order

365,480

Type

Original Article

Type Code

3,086

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

The Egyptian Journal of Surgery

Publication Link

https://ejsur.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Effect of the pandemic on the presentation and management of patients with acute appendicitis at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Details

Type

Article

Created At

21 Dec 2024