Delayed diagnosis and subsequently increased severity of acute appendicitis (compatible with clinical-pathologic grounds) during the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational case-control study

Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics, and intrabdominal findings of patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy for acute appendicitis, during the COVID-19 pandemic (Study Group), and during a 12- months of the Control Group

	Study group; n = 60	Control group; n = 97	P value
Age	33.0 ± 15.9	38.4 ± 16.9	0.19
Gender
Male	50%	54	0.80
Female	50%	46%
Catarrhal inflammation	23 (38.3%)	59 (60.8%)	0.008
Phlegmonous (suppurative)	23 (38.3%)	21 (21.6%)	0.028
Gangrenous	14 (23.3%)	16 (16.5%)	0.30
Peri-appendicular abscess	3 (5%)	1 (1.03%)	0.15
Hospital stay (days)	3.08 ± 1.57	2.75 ± 1.51	0.19
Duration of antibiotic treatment (days)	3.56 ± 2.08	3.39 ± 1.85	0.74
Duration of abdominal pain until surgery (days) Median: 25–75%	2.56 ± 1.53	1.71 ± 1.39	< 0.001

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