Title: “Characteristics and Outcomes of Acute Appendicitis in Lautoka Aspen Hospital, Fiji: An Observational Retrospective Study (09/22 – 09/23)”
Acute appendicitis is a surgical emergency characterized by symptoms due to the inflammation of the vermiform appendix. Delay in treatment increases the incidence of complications.
Majority of the patients were in age range of 11 to 30 years of age (50.5%) with male predominance (56%). The mean duration of symptoms was more than 2 days. The most common presenting symptom was localized right quadrant pain (59%) while right lower quadrant direct tenderness was the most common sign (94%). Abdominal ultrasound was done for most patients (92%) with sensitivity and specificity of 81% and 33.3% respectively. Majority of patients had complicated appendicitis (60%) with negative appendectomy rate of 7%. The mean duration of hospitalization was 4.61 days. Complication rate of this study was 23.5% with surgical site infection being the most common (19%). The mortality rate for this study was 0%.
Acute appendicitis was the most common cause of abdominal surgery with a high prevalence rate in young adults. Abdominal ultrasound was done in the majority of the patients as supplementary imaging for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Empirical antibiotic treatment was given to all patients. Complicated appendicitis was the most common intraoperative finding while the most common complication was surgical site infection.