Purpose To determine effects on admission, treatment, and outcome for acute cholecystitis during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Methods Retrospective analysis of claims data from 74 German hospitals. Study periods were defined from March 5, 2020 (start of first wave) to June 20, 2021 (end of third wave) and compared to corresponding control periods (March 2018 to February 2020). All in-patients with acute cholecystitis were included. Distribution of cases, type of surgery, comorbidities, surgical outcome, and length of stay of all cases with acute cholecystitis and cholecystectomy were compared. In addition, we analyzed the type of treatment (non-surgical, cholecystostomy, or cholecystectomy) for all cases with main diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. Results We could not demonstrate differences in daily admissions over the course of the pandemic (11.2–12.7 patients vs. 11.9–12.6 patients for control periods). Proportion of patients with non-surgical treatment was low and not increased (11.7–17.3% vs. 14.5–18.4%). Cholecystostomy was rare throughout all periods (0–0.5% of all patients). We did not observe an increase in open surgery (proportion of open cholecystectomies 3.4–5.5%). Mortality was generally low (1.5–1.9%) with no differences between periods. Median length of stay was 4 days throughout all periods. Conclusion The numerous restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic did not result in an increase of admissions or surgery for acute cholecystitis. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been safely applied during the pandemic. Our results may assure the ability to maintain high quality of surgical care even in times of disruptions to the health care system. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11605-022-05318-9.

Background Symptomatic haemorrhoids are a common anorectal disorder. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the omission of tamponade dressings after haemorrhoidectomy reduces postoperative pain without increasing the risk of severe bleeding. Method This was an open-label, randomized clinical trial conducted at 14 German hospitals. All patients with third- or fourth-degree haemorrhoids undergoing haemorrhoidectomy were considered eligible for selection in the intervention (no dressing) or control group (tamponade applied). Two co-primary outcomes were analysed by testing hierarchically ordered hypotheses. First, maximum pain intensity within 48 h after surgery was compared between the groups (superiority). This was followed by an analysis of severe bleeding complications, defined as any bleeding requiring surgical re-intervention within 7 days (non-inferiority). Secondary outcomes included health-related quality of life, patient satisfaction, haemoglobin levels, and adverse events. Results Out of 950 patients screened, 754 were randomized and 725 received intervention (366 patients in the intervention and 359 patients in the control group). In the group with tamponade dressings, median pain intensity on the 0 to 10 scale was 6 (interquartile range (i.q.r.) 4–7). Patients without tamponade dressings reported significantly less pain (median 5 (i.q.r. 3–7), P < 0.001). In each group, five patients (1.4 per cent) experienced severe bleeding. The absolute difference for the severe bleeding rate was −0.03 per cent with the 90 per cent confidence interval ranging from −1.47 per cent to +1.41 per cent, in line with the non-inferiority aim. No significant between-group difference was found for secondary outcomes. Conclusions The practice of inserting tamponade dressings after haemorrhoidectomy correlates with increased postoperative pain and does not provide benefits in terms of reduced postoperative bleeding. Registration number DRKS00011590

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