Ann Clin Surg | Volume 2, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Correa Bonito A
Department of General Surgery and Digestive System Service, La Princesa University Hospital, Spain
*Correspondance to: Correa Bonito A
Fulltext PDFAim: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a decrease in the number of emergency consultations not related to this infection. Our aim is to analyze the impact that this decrease had in the severity of the cases of Acute Diverticulitis (AD) that needed attention from our service. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study of patients assisted in the emergency service between the 1st of February and the 31st of May 2020, compared to the same period of 2019. The number of consultations in the emergency was analyzed in three phases on both years: 1st of February - 14th of March; 15th of March 30th of April; 1st to 31st of May. We analyze the number of patients, the rate of hospitalization and the degree of complication on the cases of diverticulitis through the text χ2, the exact Fisher test and ANOVA test. Results: Between the 1st of February and the 31st of May 2020, 27 patients were assessed. In the same period in 2019, 40 patients were assisted, which means a decrease of 32.5%. We did not find significant differences nor in the distribution according to Hinchey classification, neither in the rate of Complicated Diverticulitis (CAD) (40.7% in 2020 vs. 25% in 2019; p=0.17). In the study group, 11 patients were hospitalized, from which 90.9% presented CAD, whereas in the control group, 22 patients were hospitalized, with 45.5% of CAD (p=0.02). Conclusion: There was a decrease in the number of consultations for (AD) during the confinement and the severity of cases did not imply clinical relevant differences, although the criteria for hospital admission were stricter.
COVID-19; Acute diverticulitis; Complicated acute diverticulitis; Covid; Corona Virus; Coronavirus disease 2019
Correa Bonito A. The Effect of the SARS-COVID-19 Pandemic in the Epidemiology and the Management of Patients with Acute Diverticulitis: A Comparative Retrospective Cohort Study. Ann Clin Surg. 2021; 2(1): 1016.