Incidence of negative appendectomy: experience from a company hospital in Nigeria.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine the rate of negative appendectomy in a company hospital in Nigeria.


BACKGROUND
Appendicitis is one of the most common abdominal conditions requiring surgical intervention. Appendectomy, like most surgical procedures, has its complications and therefore should only be undertaken when indicated. Case series have reported the incidence of negative appendectomy in Western nations. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the incidence of negative appendectomy in a Nigerian hospital, where all the operations were carried out by consultant surgeons.


METHODS
All case files of patients who received an appendectomy at Chevron Hospital in Warri, Nigeria between January, 1999 and December, 2003 were reviewed. Demographic data, symptoms and signs on presentation, intra-operative findings and histological reports on the excised vermiform appendixes were extracted from the case files and analyzed.


RESULTS
The incidence of negative appendectomy in this study was 16.1%; all nine patients that had negative appendectomy were female.


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of negative appendectomy observed at Chevron Hospital in Warri, Nigeria is lower than that reported by most studies; one factor may be that all the patients in the present study were evaluated and operated on by consultant surgeons.
Osime
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Department of Surgery, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria.
Ajayi
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