• Serhat Meriç, Talar Vartanoglu Aktokmakyan, Merve Tokocin, Yunus Emre Aktimur, Nadir Adnan Hacım, and Osman Bilgin Gülcicek.
• Department of General Surgery, İstanbul Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul-Turkey.
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2021 Jan 1; 27 (1): 22-25.

BackgroundAcute appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency. There is no adequate information to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute appendicitis and its surgical management. The present comparative study reports successful appendectomy and infection control in patients with appendicitis during the COVID-19 pandemic and last year covering the same period.MethodsThis retrospective observational study was conducted in acute appendicitis-treated patients from 13.03.19 to 13.05.19 and from 13.03.20 to 13.05.20, respectively.ResultsThis study included 150 patients (110 patients in 2019; 40 patients in 2020 (during COVID-19 pandemic)). The patients were named as Group A (Normal period) and Group B (Pandemic period), respectively. The groups were comparable as there was no significant difference between the mean age, mean BMI, and mean length of stay. There is a significant difference between the comorbidities of Group A and Group B (p=0.033). There was no significant difference between the laboratory and radiological findings of Group A and Group B. There was a significant difference between the perforation number of Group A and Group B (p=0.029). There was no significant difference between the needs of ICU and conversion from laparoscopic to conventional appendectomy of Group A and Group B.ConclusionThe findings obtained in this study suggest that late admission to the hospital caused complicated cases and made acute appendicitis management more difficult during the pandemic period, which was already a troubling period. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the principles applied to emergency surgery for infected patients should be applied to both suspected and confirmed cases.

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