{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T16:03:37Z","timestamp":1787069017430,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,25]],"date-time":"2024-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1716595200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: This study aims to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical, pathological, and surgical characteristics of acute appendicitis (AA) at the University Hospital Centre (UHC) Zagreb. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed demographic, clinical, and surgical data from consecutive AA patients. Data were collected from an electronic database for two periods: 1 January to 31 December 2019 (pre-COVID-19), and 11 March 2020, to 11 March 2021 (COVID-19 pandemic). Results: During the two study periods, 855 appendectomies were performed, 427 in the pre-pandemic, and 428 during the pandemic. Demographic data were comparable between groups. There was statistically no significant difference in the type of appendectomy (p = 0.33) and the median hospital length of stay (3; (2\u20135) days, p = 0.08). There was an increase in the conversion rate during the pandemic period (4.2% vs. 7.7%, p = 0.03). The negative appendectomy rate and the incidence of perforated AA did not differ significantly (p = 0.34 for both). Conclusions: We did not observe a significant increase in the rate of AA complications during the COVID-19 pandemic at the UHC Zagreb. This may be attributed to two factors: (1) AA was diagnosed and treated as an emergency, which remained available during the pandemic, and (2) diagnostic and therapeutic protocols remained unaltered. We recommend a laparoscopic approach even during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children11060641","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,27]],"date-time":"2024-05-27T10:14:07Z","timestamp":1716804847000},"page":"641","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comparison of Clinical, Pathological, and Procedural Characteristics of Adult and Pediatric Acute Appendicitis before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0202-3324","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Goran","family":"Augustin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jurica","family":"\u017dedelj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karmen","family":"Jeri\u010devi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vara\u017edin General Hospital, Ul. Ivana Me\u0161trovi\u0107a 1, 42000 Vara\u017edin, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4933-4947","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nora","family":"Knez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Emergency Medicine of the City of Zagreb, Ul. Vjekoslava Heinzela 88, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"777","DOI":"10.1007\/s00384-022-04108-8","article-title":"Presentation and outcomes of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from the Middle East\u2014A multicentre prospective cohort study","volume":"37","author":"Emile","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Color. 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