Evaluation of the possible effects of the COVID-19 period on the clinical outcomes of acute mesenteric ischemia.

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the possible effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) period on the frequency and clinical course of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) cases.

Material and methods: A total of 35 patients who were treated and followed up with a diagnosis of AMI over 44 months were included.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 69 ± 12 years. Of these patients, 22 were male (63%). The most common cause of AMI in the patients was arterial embolism/thrombosis (68.6%). Thirty-three (94%) of the patients underwent surgical intervention. The duration of the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods was equal as 22 months, and 18 (51%) of the patients were admitted during the pandemic period. The mortality rate of the patients admitted during the COVID-19 period was also significantly higher than that of the patients admitted during the pre-COVID-19 period (61% and 29%) (p = 0.05).

Conclusions: Although the COVID-19 period did not cause a significant increase in the number of AMI cases when compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, the mortality rate was higher in this period. It is thought that further studies are required to investigate the cause of this increased mortality rate during the pandemic period.