Table 4.
Changes in surgical approach for acute appendicitis and aspiration of plumes from pandemic 2020 to 2021
| Query | Options | Study period: pandemic 2020 N = 701 |
Study period: 2021 N = 476 |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did you change the surgical approach (open vs. laparoscopic) to appendectomy due to the COVID-19 pandemic? | No | 61.1% (428) | 86.8% (413) | < 0.001 |
| Yes, from laparoscopic to open | 36.4% (255) | 12.0% (57) | ||
| Yes, from open to laparoscopic | 2.3% (16) | 1.3% (6) | ||
| How did you operate on COVID-19 positive patients with appendicitis? | Always open surgery, personal preference | 29.5% (207) | 13.9% (66) | < 0.001 |
| I did not operate on COVID-19 positive patients in the current year | 0.0% (0) | 16.8% (80) | ||
| I would use laparoscopic, but I do not have devices for pneumoperitoneum/smoke evacuation | 20.4% (143) | 10.3% (49) | ||
| Laparoscopic surgery | 48.6% (341) | 59.0% (281) | ||
| How did you operate on COVID-19 untested patients with appendicitis? | Always open surgery, I prefer | 27.7% (194) | 10.5% (50) | < 0.001 |
| I did not operate on COVID-19 untested patients in the current year | 0.0% (0) | 32.8% (156) | ||
| I would use laparoscopic, but I do not have devices for pneumoperitoneum/smoke evacuation | 17.0% (119) | 6.9% (33) | ||
| Laparoscopic surgery | 49.2% (345) | 49.8% (233) | ||
| If laparoscopic appendectomy was performed, did you use any filter system? | No | 25.8% (181) | 31.7% (151) | < 0.001 |
| Yes | 73.8% (510) | 68.2% (325) | ||
| If any evacuation system, which type of device did you employ? | Commercially available | 56.3% (395) | 64.6% (306) | < 0.001 |
| Homemade | 33.9% (237) | 21.9% (104) |
Bold numbers refers to significant values (when p<0.05)