{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T21:46:02Z","timestamp":1789595162282,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778803200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a decline in emergency department visits for various conditions, including appendicitis, was noted.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To evaluate changes in the number, clinical presentation, and surgical approach of appendectomies performed during the COVID-19 lockdown compared to a pre-pandemic period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Retrospective cohort study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Patients<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>All patients who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis during the lockdown months (March\u2013May 2020 and 2021) were compared to those who had appendectomy during the same months in 2018\u20132019.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Main outcome measures<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The rates of complicated (perforated) appendicitis, total number of procedures, and surgical modality (open vs. laparoscopic) were compared between the two periods.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 252 patients were included. During the pandemic period, 19.4% of patients presented with a perforated appendix vs. 9.3% in the pre-pandemic group (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.045, OR\u2009=\u20092.46). A significant decrease in the total number of appendectomies was observed during the pandemic (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.001). Additionally, the proportion of open appendectomies increased during the lockdown.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In our study, the COVID-19 lockdown was associated with a significant increase in the rate of perforated appendicitis, a reduction in hospital-treated cases, and a higher rate of open surgery. These findings may suggest delayed patient presentation during the pandemic or a relative decrease in less severe cases.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1778112","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T05:42:42Z","timestamp":1778823762000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pattern of acute appendicitis, a single-center study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Khaled A.","family":"Obeidat","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology","place":["Irbid, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rami A.","family":"Saadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology","place":["Irbid, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Renad Y.","family":"Msameh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, King Abdullah University Hospital","place":["Irbid, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","year":""},{"key":"B2","unstructured":""},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1440","DOI":"10.1002\/bjs.11746","article-title":"Elective surgery cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic: global predictive modelling to inform surgical recovery plans","volume":"107","author":"Collaborative","year":"2020","journal-title":"Br J Surg"},{"key":"B4","year":""},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.21037\/atm.2016.09.10","article-title":"Epidemiology and outcomes of acute abdominal pain in a large urban emergency department: retrospective analysis of 5,340 cases","volume":"4","author":"Cervellin","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ann Transl Med"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1072","DOI":"10.1080\/00365521.2017.1342140","article-title":"Non-specific abdominal pain remains as the most common reason for acute abdomen: 26-year retrospective audit in one emergency unit","volume":"52","author":"Fagerstr\u00f6m","year":"2017","journal-title":"Scand J Gastroenterol"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1186\/s13017-018-0179-0","article-title":"Prospective observational study on acute appendicitis worldwide (POSAW)","volume":"13","author":"Sartelli","year":"2018","journal-title":"World J Emerg Surg"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1937","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMcp1215006","article-title":"Clinical practice. 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