575 Management of Acute Appendicitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our Experience at The General Surgery Department in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London

Chatzikonstantinou, M; Pouncey, A; David, M l; Aljarad, F; Sorelli, P

INTRODUCTION: The pandemic of CoViD-19 had a major impact on provision of emergency services. National (CoViD-19) Guidelines (NG) were issued by the Colleges of Surgeons for the management of surgical patients. AIM: To assess the impact of CoViD-19 in the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) and review patients’ characteristics and compliance with NG. METHOD: A single-centre retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on surgical admissions with suspected AA between March and May 2020. Main outcomes of interest were the pre-operative investigation, the type of operation and the negative appendicectomy rate (NAR) comparing to 2019. RESULTS: A total of 109 patients were referred for suspected AA. Out of 39 patients who had surgery 21 (53.8%) were investigated with a CT and 13 (33%) with an ultrasound. There was a 31.6% reduction in appendicectomies compared to 2019. 30 patients (76.9%) had an open procedure vs 9 laparoscopic (23.1%) in alignment with the NG(2). Histology showed AA in 37 out of 39 of the cases. The NAR was 5.12 vs 12.2 for 2019. CONCLUSIONS: There was a 31.6% reduction in appendicectomies during CoViD-19. Most patients were investigated with a CT and underwent an open procedure. Pre-operative investigation with a CT led in reduction of NAR.