Table 1.
Baseline: clinical characteristics of all patients, 2019 pre-COVID cohort compared to 2020 COVID cohort
| Characteristic | 2019 control cohort (n = 642) | 2020 COVID-19 cohort (n = 607) |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median (IQR), years | 40 (28–57) | 42 (29–58) | 0.183 |
| Female sex, no./total no. (%) | 322/642 (50.2) | 318/607 (52.4) | 0.430 |
| ASA > 1, no./total no. (%) | 263/595 (44.2) | 254/524 (48.5) | 0.153 |
| COPD, no./total no. (%) | 13/630 (2.1) | 11/599 (1.8) | 0.774 |
| Diabetes Mellitus, no./total no. (%) | 24/631 (3.8) | 34/596 (5.7) | 0.117 |
| Heart failure, no./total no. (%) | 11/631 (1.7) | 11/597 (1.8) | 0.896 |
| Coronary artery disease, no./total no. (%) | 17/631 (2.7) | 28/598 (4.7) | 0.064 |
| Active smoker, no./total no. (%) | 61/293 (20.8) | 63/275 (22.9) | 0.547 |
| Duration of symptoms > 24 h, no./total no. (%) | 358/637 (56.2) | 371/601 (61.1) | 0.048 |
| Severity of appendicitis, no./total no. (%) | 0.008 | ||
| Uncomplicated | 391/642 (60.9) | 321/607 (52.9) | |
| Gangrenous | 45/642 (7.0) | 50/607 (8.2) | |
| Perforation | 157/642 (24.5) | 179/607 (29.5) | |
| Infiltrate/Abscess | 43/642 (6.7) | 54/607 (8.9) | |
| Normal (sana) | 6/642 (0.9) | 3/607 (0.5) | |
| Conservative treatment, no./total no. (%) | 41/642 (6.4) | 63/607 (10.4) | 0.011 |
| Complication within 30 days, no./total no. (%) | 72/642 (11.5) | 76/607 (12.5) | 0.475 |
Abbreviations: ASA American Society of Anesthesiologists, COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, IQR interquartile range