Limiting hospital resources for acute appendicitis in children: Lessons learned from the U.S. epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic

During COVID-19's peak in New York, a children's hospital successfully applied non-operative management with brief IV antibiotics to 45.5% of acute appendicitis cases, expanding traditional inclusion criteria to conserve OR resources while minimizing hospital stays. The approach treated similar patient volumes as pre-pandemic years despite resource constraints.