Emergency laparotomy and perioperative COVID-19: a single-center retrospective cohort study

Concerning the perioperative outcomes of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who underwent emergency laparotomy, more data must be collected. Because COVID-19 can affect multiple organs, cause various complications, and act as a risk factor for surgery, in this study, we aimed to compare the outcomes of emergency laparotomy between SARS-CoV-2 infected and uninfected patients. This retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients who underwent emergency laparotomy from December 2021 to December 2022. Postoperative outcomes were compared between patients with and without confirmed perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes were postoperative intensive care unit admission, hospital length of stay, re-operation, and postoperative complications. Data were analyzed by SPSS statistic version 27. In this study, 50 patients in the COVID-19 group and 91 patients in the non-COVID-19 group were assessed. The 30-day mortality in the COVID-19 group was significantly higher than in the non-COVID-19 group (34% vs. 12.1%, respectively, P = 0.004). Postoperative complications were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group (64% vs. 26.4%, P < 0.001). The frequency of ICU admission and need for re-operation were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group (P = 0.003 and P = 0.039, respectively). Length of hospital stay was significantly lower in the non-COVID-19 group (P = 0.021). In patients with confirmed COVID-19, emergency laparotomy is associated with increased postoperative morbidity and mortality. Additionally, emergency laparotomy is associated with increasing postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, intensive care admission, and additional surgery requirement.