IMPACT OF THE SARS-COV 2 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE APPENDICITE

In 2020, a new respiratory-tropic virus called SARS-Cov-2 caused a pandemic, the Covid-19. Acute appendicitis is the most frequent surgical emergency. We carried out a study evaluating the impact of this new pandemic on the management of acute appendicitis. Material and Method: A retrospective study on acute appendicitis was conducted from June 2019 to November 2020 inclusive, in the pediatric surgery department of the Fattouma Bourguiba hospital in Monastir Results: The study included 210 patients. No difference noted concerning the epidemiological data between the 2 periods or the number of consultants. However, we noticed a lengthening of the consultation time du during the Covid period (35.6 h vs 44.4 h: p=0.190) especially beyond the 72nd h. No notable difference concerning the data of the clinical examination and the para-clinical explorations. In addition, the group during the pandemic had a higher rate of complicated acute appendicitis. This group also presented an increase in the duration of hospitalization but also 02 deaths attributable to a delay in treatment. The Covid-19 has had a significant impact on healthcare management in general.