Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Acute Pancreatitis Presentations, Management and In-Hospital Outcomes: A Single-Center, Retrospective Observational Study from the Northeast Of China

Introduction: Since initially detected in late December 2019, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak rapidly swept the world. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the pattern of hospital admissions and healthcare services for acute pancreatitis(AP).Methods: This single-center, retrospective observational study from a regional medical center in the northeast of China included all consecutively admitted patients with AP from January 23 to June 10, 2020 (during the COVID-19 outbreak in Harbin), compared with the equivalent period of the previous year, in terms of demographics, clinical characteristics, and in-hospital outcomes.Results: In the present article, we observed a reduction in AP admissions after the onset of COVID-19. With the prolonged time from symptom onset to hospitalization (32.0 [22.0–72.0] versus 18.0 [12.0–24.0] hours; P <.001), a higher proportion of patients developed acute renal failure (39% versus 34%, P =.004) and acute necrotic collection (16.5% versus 11.2%; P =.038) in the COVID-19 era. The percentage of alcohol etiology significantly reduced after the implementation of social restriction measures (11.5% versus 22.4%; P <.001), whereas biliary etiology was numerically more common amidst the COVID-19 era (41.6% versus 32.6%; P = .014). No significant differences were found in the rates of intensive care unit admission and mortality between the two groups.Conclusions: The current study preliminarily demonstrated the descending trend and delay in hospital presentations for AP during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic requires the modification of medical centers to optimize the management of AP and the containment of nosocomial viral transmission. Trial Registration: ClincialTrials.gov number, ChiCTR2100043350.Funding: None to declare Declaration of Interest: None to declareEthical Approval: Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of 1st HMU.