Project Lead: Dr Regina Prigge

The aim of this project is to establish the impact of the recent COVID-19 pandemic on the management approach to emergency surgical conditions. As a model condition, we will use one of the most common emergency surgical conditions; acute appendicitis. Appendicitis can be managed definitively with surgical operation, or conservatively with antibiotic administration alone. The latter poses the risk of recurrent appendicitis and is often elected by patients as an alternative to admission and operative management. We aim to compare recurrence rates of acute appendicitis in patients managed without surgery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Any occurring significant differences will provide evidence that the pandemic has had an impact on physicians’ treatment approach, and patient views regarding the fear of hospitalization. Part of the project is to identify individual risk factors for the election of surgical versus non-operative management of appendicitis during the pandemic.

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