Complicated Appendicitis in COVID-19 Era

Increased Incidence of Adult Complicated Appendicitis in One Resource-Competent Community During the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic: Time to Improve Health-Seeking Behaviors

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05012839

Enrollment

465

Registered

2021-08-19

Start date

2017-01-01

Completion date

2021-08-14

Last updated

2021-08-19

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Complicated Appendicitis, Covid19

Keywords

Health-seeking behavior, COVID-19, appendicitis

Brief summary

Background The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on medical services is overwhelming due to limited medical resources. During its initial surge in 2020, Taiwan's government rapidly established diverse public actions, which helped maintain the medical supply without travel restrictions. However, whether the fear of being infected with COVID-19 interfered with health-seeking behavior (HSB) remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate whether acute complicated appendicitis (ACA) rates in adults were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A retrospective analysis of acute appendicitis in adults was performed between January 1 and June 30, 2020 (COVID-19 period). The control period was collected from the first two quarters for the preceding 3 years. Outcome measures were ACA and length of hospital stays.

Interventions

OTHERimpact of COVID-19 on Health-Seeking Behaviors

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on medical services is overwhelming due to limited medical resources. During its initial surge in 2020, Taiwan's government rapidly established diverse public actions, which helped maintain the medical supply without travel restrictions. However, whether the fear of being infected with COVID-19 interfered with health-seeking behavior (HSB) remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate whether acute complicated appendicitis (ACA) rates in adults were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

RETROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

20 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Acute appendicitis

Exclusion criteria

* No

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Incidence of complicated appendicitis	baseline, pre-surgery	The primary outcome measure was the occurrence of ACA defined as abscess observed in computed tomography, presence of appendiceal perforation determined by surgical documentation, or a description of gangrenous appendicitis assessed by pathological reports.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Length of hospital stays	up to 4 weeks	the duration of hospital stays after surgery

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026