Title: Delayed diagnosis and subsequently increased severity of acute appendicitis (compatible
with clinical-pathologic grounds) during the COVID-19 pandemic – an observational case-
control study.
Version: 3 Date: 27 Sep 2021
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this manuscript from a prominent hospital in Isreal,
one of the leaders of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of containment response and vaccination
speed.
The manuscript highlights that a delayed presentation due to the pandemic has resulted in worse
clinical state of the appendicitis disease process but did not yield any difference in the surgical
outcomes.
As brought up earlier in my point-for-point assessment checklist, the COVID-19 pandemic is a
global phenomenom and diseases, infective or neoplastic would undoubtedly present later. This
is in part due to patient and healthcare factors. A disease presenting later would definitely have
an impact on the extent of disease down its line of natural progression and simply highlighting
that the pandemic results in later presentation and worse extent of appendicitis is not going to
help literature in any way.
I would have like the authors to highlight the barriers for presentation delay, and pair that up
with the worse clinical manifestation in order to assist readers to take the necessary steps to
address this delayed presentation.
Title: Delayed diagnosis and subsequently increased severity of acute appendicitis (compatible
with clinical-pathologic grounds) during the COVID-19 pandemic – an observational case-
control study.
Version: 3 Date: 27 Sep 2021
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this manuscript from a prominent hospital in Isreal,
one of the leaders of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of containment response and vaccination
speed.
The manuscript highlights that a delayed presentation due to the pandemic has resulted in worse
clinical state of the appendicitis disease process but did not yield any difference in the surgical
outcomes.
As brought up earlier in my point-for-point assessment checklist, the COVID-19 pandemic is a
global phenomenom and diseases, infective or neoplastic would undoubtedly present later. This
is in part due to patient and healthcare factors. A disease presenting later would definitely have
an impact on the extent of disease down its line of natural progression and simply highlighting
that the pandemic results in later presentation and worse extent of appendicitis is not going to
help literature in any way.
I would have like the authors to highlight the barriers for presentation delay, and pair that up
with the worse clinical manifestation in order to assist readers to take the necessary steps to
address this delayed presentation.
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Delayed diagnosis and subsequently increased severity of acute appendicitis (compatible
with clinical-pathologic grounds) during the COVID-19 pandemic – an observational case-
control study.
Version: 3 Date: 27 Sep 2021
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this manuscript from a prominent hospital in Isreal,
one of the leaders of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of containment response and vaccination
speed.
The manuscript highlights that a delayed presentation due to the pandemic has resulted in worse
clinical state of the appendicitis disease process but did not yield any difference in the surgical
outcomes.
As brought up earlier in my point-for-point assessment checklist, the COVID-19 pandemic is a
global phenomenom and diseases, infective or neoplastic would undoubtedly present later. This
is in part due to patient and healthcare factors. A disease presenting later would definitely have
an impact on the extent of disease down its line of natural progression and simply highlighting
that the pandemic results in later presentation and worse extent of appendicitis is not going to
help literature in any way.
I would have like the authors to highlight the barriers for presentation delay, and pair that up
with the worse clinical manifestation in order to assist readers to take the necessary steps to
address this delayed presentation.
assistant