D. F. Nino1,3, J. S. Barajas-Gamboa4, S. W. Bickler2, J. A. Nino3 1Johns Hopkins University School Of Medicine,Pediatric Surgery / Surgery,Baltimore, MD, USA 2University Of California – San Diego,Pediatric Surgery / Surgery,San Diego, CA, USA 3Universidad Nacional De Colombia,Pediatric Surgery / Surgery,Bogota, CUNDINAMARCA, Colombia 4Universidad Autonoma De Bucaramanga,Surgery,Bucaramanga, SANTANDER, Colombia
Introduction: Incidence of acute appendicitis (AA) varies by geographical region, season, race, sex and age. We have determined the incidence of AA and perforation rate at a referral teaching hospital located in Colombia. We hypothesize that due to geographical location and lack of distinct seasons there is no variability in the incidence of AA throughout the year.
Methods: Under IRB approval, a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of all surgical cases was carried out. The number of appendectomies was determined for a 5-year period and analyzed per month. Multivariate analyses included age, sex and perforation rate. A two-way ANOVA, p<0.05 was considered significant. Multivariate linear regressions were used to determine correlation between independent variables, incidence and perforation rate.
Results: Between 01/2008 and 12/2012 we identified 3921 cases of AA, 60.8% male and average age 9-years-old (range 2–16). The number of cases per month for the five years analyzed averaged 65 (range 40–83 cases/month). The incidence of AA remained constant throughout the different months (p = 0.1178) and did not vary per year analyzed (p = 0.6805). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated no effects of age and sex in the total incidence. Perforation rate averaged 34.3% (23.5 – 45%) without variation per-month or per-year.
Conclusion: Our study indicates that the geographical location of our country and subsequent lack of seasonality have an impact on the incidence of AA. Contrary to current literature we found no seasonal variation. More studies are warranted to determine the cause or lack thereof of variation in the incidence of AA.