Volume 26, Issue 123, May 2022

Pattern of acute appendicitis during COVID 19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Boshra Abdullah Alzahrani¹, Norah Sami Aljuhani¹, Saeed Abdullah Alzahrani¹, Abdalmajid Maezi Alanezi¹, Rakan Hamoud Alsukaybi¹, Khalid Rahil Alanazi¹, Halima Mustafa Elagib^2,3, Saadeldin Ahmed Idris^4,5♦

¹Medical student, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
²Dept. of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
³Dept. of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan
⁴Dept. of surgery, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
⁵Dept. of surgery, College of Medicine, Alzaeim Alazhari University, Sudan

^♦Corresponding author
Dept. of surgery, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia Dept. of surgery, College of Medicine, Alzaeim Alazhari University, Sudan

ABSTRACT

Background: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, acute appendicitis manipulation approaches as well as patient outcomes have been altered. Aim: To determine if the COVID-19 pandemic has an impact on complications among acute appendicitis patients matched to the pre-COVID-19 period. Methods: A cross-sectional study had been conducted using predesigned google form questionnaire during the period between September 2021 and March 2022. Participants were categorised in two groups, those being affected by acute appendicitis before and those during the pandemic. The collected data were managed by SPSS version 23.0. Results: A 2669 respondents (62.2% females and 37.8% males) from different region of the Saudi Arabia. The majority were overweight or obese as seen in 23.9% and 20.1% respectively. A 75.2% had developed appendicitis before, while 24.8% were during COVID 19. The main symptom was right lower abdominal pain (84.8%). Conservative management was employed in 31.9% (p=0.15). A 38.8% believed that their operation was replaced with antibiotic treatment due to pandemic. Complications were significantly reported in those developed acute appendicitis during COVID 19 pandemic (p= <0.001). A 72.1% of those with appendicitis during pandemic refrains from seeing a doctor due to the COVID 19 pandemic until their pain worsened. Conclusion: There is an ominously greater prevalence of complication related to acute appendicitis thru the COVID-19.

Keywords: acute appendicitis; COVID-19; non-operative management; operative management; complications

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms182e2265

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i123/ms182e2265

Published: 20 May 2022