Appendicitis as a presentation of COVID-19: A case report

Background: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Respiratory symptoms and flu-like presentation are the most defined clinical manifestations. However, gastrointestinal symptoms with acute abdomen have been reported in a small percentage, occasionally mimicking acute appendicitis. Hence, the diagnosis of COVID-19 should be suspected and investigated in every case of acute abdomen in the present situation.

Case presentation: We report a case of a 25-year-old male who presented with features of acute appendicitis. Despite the equivocal ultrasound results, he was scheduled for an emergency appendectomy for Alvarado's score 7 out of 10, who underwent a successful appendectomy. The patient had initially tested negative on an upper respiratory COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with normal chest X-ray but few hours after the surgery patient developed a high-grade fever. An RT-PCR for COVID-19 was resent following a suspicion that came out to be positive.

Clinical discussion: Several case reports have suggested a probable association between COVID-19 and appendicitis. This case shows the limited effectiveness of clinical diagnosis for the surgical abdomen in COVID-19 patients as these two conditions share similar symptoms often needing a clinical vigilance.

Conclusion: This case reports acute appendicitis in a patient who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 subsequently following emergency appendectomy highlighting the acute gastrointestinal presentation of COVID-19. This case exemplifies the necessity to be familiar with the gastrointestinal symptoms of COVID-19 and maintain a high level of suspicion for COVID-19 infection in cases of abdominal pain.