title: Appendiceal inflammation affects the length of stay following appendicectomy amongst children: a myth or reality?
abstract: The effect of the severity of appendiceal inflammation on post-operative stay in children following appendicectomy has shown conflicting results. This study was conducted to determine the association between the severity of appendiceal inflammation and post-operative stay amongst children undergoing open appendicectomy. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a District General Hospital for two years. A total of 204 patients were included in the study with an age range between 3 and 16 years. Females were 54.9% while the rest were male. Mean age was 12.5 ± 3 years. The association of the severity of appendiceal inflammation and post-operative stay was assessed by multivariable Cox Proportional hazards model. Mean post-operative stay was 2.32 days (95% CI 2.14-2.51). Macroscopically perforated appendix, histological inflammation and post-operative complications were significantly associated with post-operative stay on univariable analysis (P < 0.05). Whereas, the multivariable analysis showed that the post-operative stay was significantly prolonged only in case of either perforated appendix or post-operative complications while it remained unaffected by the histological inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Kent, UK. sk.sid@hotmail.co.uk
authors.forename: Khurram
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Siddique
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mirza
authors.forename: Gandra
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Harinath
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001062:Appendectomy; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D001065:Appendix / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom