Background Non-operative management (NOM) of acute appendicitis has been assessed in several studies before COVID-19 pandemic. This systematic review aimed to assess the extent of adoption, efficacy, and safety of NOM of acute appendicitis in the setting of COVID-19. Methods This was a PRISMA-compliant systematic review of the literature. Electronic databases and Google Scholar were queried for studies that applied NOM of acute appendicitis during COVID-19. The main outcome measures were the rates of NOM application during the pandemic as compared to the pre-pandemic period, failure and complication rates of NOM. Failure was defined as the need for appendectomy during NOM and complications included development of appendicular mass or abscess. Results Fourteen studies (2140 patients) were included. The male to female ratio was 1.44:1 and median age was 34. Nine hundred fifty-nine (44.8%) patients had a trial of NOM. The weighted mean rate of NOM application was 50.1% (95%CI: 29.8–70.5%). The application of NOM during the pandemic was significantly more likely than its application before COVID-19 (OR = 6.7, p < 0.001). The weight mean failure rate of NOM was 16.4% (95%CI: 9.4–23.4). NOM failure was more likely in children and patients with complicated appendicitis. The weighted mean complication rate after NOM was 4.5% (95%CI: 1.4–7.7). NOM had significantly lower odds for complications than appendectomy (OR = 0.36, p = 0.03). There was no mortality after application of NOM. Conclusion NOM of acute appendicitis in the setting of COVID-19 may be a safe, short-term alternative to surgery with acceptably low failure and complication rates. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11605-021-04988-1.

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BACKGROUND:The low lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and high platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio have been reported to be poor prognostic indicators in various solid tumors, but the prognostic significance in rectal cancer remains controversial. OBJECTIVES:We sought to determine the prognostic value of the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio following curative-intent surgery for rectal cancer.DATA SOURCES: Following PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO, ID: CRD42020190880), PubMed and Embase databases were searched through January 2021 including 3 other registered medical databases.STUDY SELECTION: Studies evaluating the impact of pretreatment lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and plateletto-lymphocyte ratio on overall or disease-free survival in patients undergoing curative rectal cancer resection were selected. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES:The main outcome measures were overall and disease-free survival.RESULTS: A total of 23 studies (6683 patients) were included; lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio were evaluated in 14 and 16 studies. A low lymphocyteto-monocyte ratio was associated with poorer overall survival (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.29-1.90; p < 0.001) and disease-free survival (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.13-1.46; p < 0.001). However, when the analysis was limited to patients treated with surgery alone or to those with stage I to III tumors, lymphocyte-tomonocyte ratio was not a predictor of overall survival and disease-free survival. The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio did not predict for overall or disease-free survival, regardless of the treatment modality, studied population, tumor stage, or cutoff value. Finally, a low lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, but not a high platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, was inversely correlated with complete pathologic response rate.LIMITATIONS: The retrospective nature of most included studies was a limitation.CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, but not platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, correlates with tumor response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and poorer prognosis after curative-intent surgery for rectal cancer, and it potentially represents a simple and reliable biomarker that could help optimize individualized clinical decision-making in high-risk patients.

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