Acute surgical abdomen during the COVID‑19 pandemic: Clinical and therapeutic challenges

  • Authors:
    • Dragos Serban
    • Bogdan Socea
    • Cristinel Dumitru Badiu
    • Corneliu Tudor
    • Simona Andreea Balasescu
    • Dan Dumitrescu
    • Andra Maria Trotea
    • Radu Iulian Spataru
    • Geta Vancea
    • Ana Maria Dascalu
    • Ciprian Tanasescu
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: March 22, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9950
  • Article Number: 519
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Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic on the clinical presentation and therapeutic management of acute surgical abdomen. A retrospective study of emergency hospitalizations with a diagnosis of acute surgical abdomen between April and July 2020 vs. a similar period in 2019 was performed. The observation sheets and the operating protocols were analyzed. Between April and July 2020, 50 cases of acute surgical abdomen were hospitalized and treated, compared to 43 cases in the same period last year. The main types of pathology in both groups included: Occlusions (60%, respectively 44.2% in 2019) and peritonitis (32%, respectively 41.8% in 2019). There was an increased rate of patients with colorectal cancers neglected therapeutically or uninvestigated, who presented during the pandemic period with emergencies for complications such as occlusion or tumor perforation (32 vs. 6.97%, P=0.0039). One case, with gastric perforation, was COVID‑positive, with no pulmonary symptoms at admission. The number of postoperative infectious complications was lower during the pandemic (2 vs. 13.95%, P=0.0461). As the COVID‑19 pandemic appears to be still far from ending, we should learn to adapt our surgical protocols to the new evidence. Oncological patients are a vulnerable group, who were neglected in the first months of the pandemic. SARS‑Cov‑2 infection may be a cause of abdominal pain and should be taken into account in different diagnoses of acute abdomen in surgical wards. Correct wearing of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and respecting strict rules of asepsis and antisepsis are required for preventing in‑hospital transmission of infection.
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May-2021
Volume 21 Issue 5

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Spandidos Publications style
Serban D, Socea B, Badiu CD, Tudor C, Balasescu SA, Dumitrescu D, Trotea AM, Spataru RI, Vancea G, Dascalu AM, Dascalu AM, et al: Acute surgical abdomen during the COVID‑19 pandemic: Clinical and therapeutic challenges. Exp Ther Med 21: 519, 2021
APA
Serban, D., Socea, B., Badiu, C.D., Tudor, C., Balasescu, S.A., Dumitrescu, D. ... Tanasescu, C. (2021). Acute surgical abdomen during the COVID‑19 pandemic: Clinical and therapeutic challenges. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 21, 519. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9950
MLA
Serban, D., Socea, B., Badiu, C. D., Tudor, C., Balasescu, S. A., Dumitrescu, D., Trotea, A. M., Spataru, R. I., Vancea, G., Dascalu, A. M., Tanasescu, C."Acute surgical abdomen during the COVID‑19 pandemic: Clinical and therapeutic challenges". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21.5 (2021): 519.
Chicago
Serban, D., Socea, B., Badiu, C. D., Tudor, C., Balasescu, S. A., Dumitrescu, D., Trotea, A. M., Spataru, R. I., Vancea, G., Dascalu, A. M., Tanasescu, C."Acute surgical abdomen during the COVID‑19 pandemic: Clinical and therapeutic challenges". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21, no. 5 (2021): 519. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9950