Treatment outcome of appendicitis in Azare

Abstract

Objectives: Appendicitis is and has remained one of the most common abdominal surgical emergencies the world over. Its procedure and appendectomy is also a very common and regularly done surgical procedure and, thus, a very important disease to describe in totality. Hence, we set out to describe the pattern of presentation and management outcome of this condition in our environment. Materials and Methods: Data were collected retrospectively of all patients with the clinical diagnosis of appendicitis during the study period and analyzed. Results: A total of 62 patients had a clinical diagnosis of appendicitis over the period under review. M: F was 1:1.1. Age ranged from 3 years to 47 years with a mean of 21.50 ± 10.07. All (100%) patients presented with right iliac fossa pain. Other symptoms were anorexia (45.2%), nausea (61.3%), and vomiting (40.3%). All (100%) of patients went on to have an appendectomy. Twelve (19.40%) patients had surgical site infection and 2 (3.20%) developed enterocutaneous fistula. Duration of hospital stay ranged from 1 to 30 days. One patient who had uncontrolled diabetes mellitus died giving a mortality rate of 1.6. Conclusion: Typical clinical features of acute appendicitis were lower abdominal quadrant pain associated with nausea, anorexia, and vomiting. It goes without saying that diagnosis can still be made comfortably on clinical grounds and treatment outcome is generally good.