Increased incidence of complicated appendicitis during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The fog of uncertainty surrounding COVID‐19 has begun to clear as information about the virus accumulates from around the world. Governments have had varying responses to the pandemic, indicative of this uncertainty. The Australian government's restrictions have to date been effective in slowing spread of viral infections but may have had unintended consequences on other health conditions as a result. Paediatric emergency department presentations have decreased as people are reluctant to leave home and risk contracting the virus whilst attending hospital.1 These delays to presentation have the potential to increase morbidity and mortality from non‐COVID‐19 related diseases.

Our institution is the largest children's hospital in Australia and performs between 350 and 400 appendectomies each year. Using appendicitis as a bellwether, we wanted to see if there was evidence for later presentations in our hospital.