Decreased incidence of intussusception during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trends in pediatric surgical emergencies
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In brief
In brief
Retrospective study of three Tokyo hospitals found intussusception incidence dropped significantly during 2020 COVID-19 pandemic (3.1% vs 6.1% pre-pandemic), with no emergency surgical interventions required compared to 9.8% previously. Findings suggest pandemic infection control measures may have altered intussusception etiopathogenesis.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Purpose
Recent reports suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may be influencing disease morbidity. The purpose of this study was to investigate pandemic-related changes in the incidence of pediatric surgical emergencies.
Methods
Data from patients with one of 8 typical conditions considered to be pediatric emergencies who presented at 3 hospitals close to central Tokyo were collated retrospectively from accident and emergency (AE) department records for 2020 and compared with data for 3 years prior to 2020.
Results
All subjects had similar demographic profiles. The total number of pediatric AE attendances from 2017 to 2020 was 2880 (2017: n = 600, 2018: n = 736, 2019: n = 817, and 2020: n = 727). Annual attendances were similar. Of the 8 conditions, there were significantly less cases of intussusception in 2020 than previously (23/727; 3.1% versus 132/2153; 6.1%) p < 0.01 and the number of emergency surgical interventions for intussusception was also significantly less in 2020 (0/23; 0% versus 13/132; 9.8%) p < 0.01.
Conclusion
The implementation of preventative measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 would appear to have influenced the etiopathogenesis of intussusception enough to significantly decrease its overall incidence and the requirement for emergency surgical intervention.