Incidence of appendicitis during COVID-19 lockdown: A nationwide population-based study
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AIM: To investigate how a nationwide lockdown influences the incidence of appendicitis.
BACKGROUND: Communitive infectious diseases may play a role in the pathogenesis of appendicitis as indicated by a seasonal variation in the incidence rate. The spread of communitive infectious diseases has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown; thus, we have an opportunity to study the incidence rate of appendicitis in an environment with less impact from common community infections.
METHODS: The study is a nationwide register-based cohort study of the entire Danish population of 5.8 million. The difference in the incidence of appendicitis in a population subjugated to a controlled lockdown with social distancing (study group) was compared to a population not subjugated to a controlled lockdown and social distancing (reference group).
RESULTS: The relative risk of appendicitis during the lockdown was 0.92 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.82-1.03, p = 0.131). The relative risk of complicated appendicitis during the lockdown was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.49-0.93, p = 0.02). The incidence of uncomplicated appendicitis was not significantly different during the national lockdown.
CONCLUSIONS: During the national lockdown of Denmark due to the COVID-19 pandemic the incidence of complicated appendicitis was reduced significantly compared to previous years, indicating that infectious disease might be a factor in the pathogenesis of appendicitis with complications.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04407117).
Original language | English |
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Journal | Scandinavian Journal of Surgery |
Volume | 111 |
Issue number | 2 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISSN | 1457-4969 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
- Appendicitis/complications, COVID-19/epidemiology, Cohort Studies, Communicable Disease Control, Humans, Incidence, Pandemics
Research areas
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