The Global Incidence of Appendicitis

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

We compared the incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy across the world and evaluated temporal trends.

Related collections

Most cited references 16

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The epidemiology of appendicitis and appendectomy in the United States.

DAVID G ADDISS, NATHAN SHAFFER, BARBARA S. FOWLER … (1990)

To describe the epidemiology of appendicitis and appendectomy in the United States, the authors analyzed National Hospital Discharge Survey data for the years 1979-1984. Approximately 250,000 cases of appendicitis occurred annually in the United States during this period, accounting for an estimated 1 million hospital days per year. The highest incidence of primary positive appendectomy (appendicitis) was found in persons aged 10-19 years (23.3 per 10,000 population per year); males had higher rates of appendicitis than females for all age groups (overall rate ratio, 1.4:1). Racial, geographic, and seasonal differences were also noted. Appendicitis rates were 1.5 times higher for whites than for nonwhites, highest (15.4 per 10,000 population per year) in the west north central region, and 11.3% higher in the summer than in the winter months. The highest rate of incidental appendectomy was found in women aged 35-44 years (43.8 per 10,000 population per year), 12.1 times higher than the rate for men of the same age. Between 1970 and 1984, the incidence of appendicitis decreased by 14.6%; reasons for this decline are unknown. A life table model suggests that the lifetime risk of appendicitis is 8.6% for males and 6.7% for females; the lifetime risk of appendectomy is 12.0% for males and 23.1% for females. Overall, an estimated 36 incidental procedures are performed to prevent one case of appendicitis; for the elderly, the preventive value of an incidental procedure is considerably lower.

0 comments Cited 402 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

The Epidemiology of Appendicitis and Appendectomy in South Korea: National Registry Data

Jung Lee, Young Park, Joong Sub Choi (2010)

Background Appendicitis is one of the most frequent acute surgical conditions of the abdomen, and appendectomy is one of the most commonly performed operations in the world. However, epidemiological data on appendicitis have not been reported for South Korean or East Asian populations. Methods We analyzed the epidemiological features and lifetime risk of appendicitis and appendectomy in South Korea using data collected for the national health insurance database from 2005 through 2007. Results Appendectomy was performed in 59.70% of inpatients diagnosed with appendicitis. The overall incidences of appendicitis, total appendectomy, and perforated appendectomy were 22.71, 13.56, and 2.91 per 10 000 population per year, respectively. The incidence of appendicitis and appendectomy showed clear seasonality, with a peak in summer. The standardized lifetime risks of appendicitis and appendectomy were constant from 2005 through 2007. A life table model suggests that the lifetime risk of appendicitis is 16.33% for males and 16.34% for females, and that the lifetime risk of appendectomy is 9.89% for males and 9.61% for females. Conclusions As compared to results obtained in research on Western populations, appendicitis and appendectomy had a similar perforation rate and seasonality, but a higher overall incidence, in South Koreans. Between 2005 and 2007, the incidence of appendicitis and appendectomy was constant. Overall, an estimated 15 incidental appendectomies are performed to prevent 1 inpatient with suspected appendicitis, and 26 incidental appendectomies are performed to prevent 1 appendectomy. Incidental appendectomy may have greater preventive value in Koreans.