The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the management and outcome of adnexal
torsion: a retrospective review
Abstract
Study Objective: To evaluate how COVID-19 has affected the management of
women who presented with suspected adnexal torsion. Design: A
retrospective case-controlled cohort study. Setting: A tertiary
hospital. Population: 25 women in the control group (surgical date 24th
March 2019 to 23rd March 2020) and 36 women in the pandemic group (24th
March 2020 to 23rd March 2021) with confirmed adnexal torsion. Methods:
Electronic patient record reviewed looking at women that had confirmed
adnexal torsion in surgery. Main outcome measures: Time taken between
clinical diagnosis of suspected adnexal torsion and surgical
confirmation. Results: The median number of hours between suspected
diagnosis and operating time was 7 hours (range 0.5-45 hours) and 4
hours (range 1-53 hours) respectively, with no statistical difference
between the two groups (p>0.05, p=0.27). Out of hours
operating was 6.5 times (OR 6.5 95%CI 1.36-31.09, p=0.01) more likely
in the pandemic group when compared to the control group. Surgical
outcome demonstrated 60% (n=15) of patients required oophorectomy in
the control group, compared with 38% (n=14) in the pandemic group.
Conclusions: Whilst there was an increase in the likelihood of out of
hours operating during the pandemic; we have demonstrated that our
ability to undertake diagnostic test and to perform emergency surgery
safely was not delayed overall due to the impacts of COVID-19. Funding:
None Keywords: adnexal torsion; ovarian torsion; COVID-19