The effect of emergency surgery on acute abdomen patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: a retrospective observational study

During the COVID-19 outbreak, some patients with COVID-19 pneumonia also suffered from acute abdomen requiring surgical treatment; however, there is no consensus for the treatment of such patients. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed 34 patients with acute abdomen who underwent emergency surgery during the COVID-19 outbreak. Among the 34 patients with acute abdomen, a total of six cases were found with COVID-19 pneumonia (clinical classification for COVID-19 pneumonia: all were the common type). On the premise of similar demographics between both groups, patients with COVID-19 pneumonia had worse indicators of liver and coagulation function. Compared with acute abdomen patients without COVID-19, patients with COVID-19 pneumonia had a longer hospital stay, but there were no significant differences in postsurgical complications (P = 0.58) or clinical outcomes (P = 0.56). In addition, an obvious resolution of lung inflammation after surgery was observed in five COVID-19 patients (83.3%). No new COVID-19 cases occurred during the patients’ hospital stays. Therefore, for the common type of COVID-19 pneumonia, emergency surgery could not only improve the outcomes of COVID-19 pneumonia patients with acute abdomen, but also benefit the resolution of pulmonary inflammation.