Abdul Janan, Mushtaq Ahmad, Inamullah, Aziz Wazir.
Risk factors for perforation in acute appendicitis.
J Med Sci Jan ;20(1):11-4.

Objective: To determine the rate and risk factors for perforation in acute appendicitis. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Surgical C Unit, Department of Surgery, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar from January 2008 to April 2009. A total of 150 patients were included in the study. Data regarding age, gender, time interval between development of symptoms and hospital admission, time in terval between hospital admission and appendicectomy, operative findings, and histopathology report were retrieved from the patients’ hospital record and analyzed. Percentages were calculated for categorical data while numerical data were represented as mean ± SD with Chi square test and t test being used as tests of significance. Probability less than 0.05 (P < 0.05) was considered significant. Results: Out of 150 patients, there were 87 (58%) males and 63 (42%) females. The mean age of the patients was 23 years with a range of 10 to 60 years. The rates of negative appendicectomy and perforation were 6.7% and 10% respectively. Mean interval between development of symptoms and hospital admission (patient interval) in the perforated group was 71.33 ± 44.69 hours which was statistically significant (P < 0.001) while mean interval between hospital admission and appendicectomy (hospital interval) was 10.93 ± 19.23 hours in patients with perforated appendicitis which was statistically insignificant (P = 0.25). Conclusion: Age, male gender and patient interval are significant factors for perforation in acute appendicitis.

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