Clinical characteristics of children with acute appendicitis accessing the Emergency Service of the Pilar Regional Hospital in the period 2020 to 2023

Abstract

Objective: Determine the clinical characteristics of children with acute appendicitis who attend the Emergency Service of the Pilar Regional Hospital during the period 2020 to 2023.

Materials and methods: Descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional observational study in pediatric patients attending the emergency service of the Pilar Regional Hospital. It included patients aged 4 to 15 years who attended the emergency department due to acute abdominal pain during the period January 2020 to July 2023.

Results: 80 appendectomies were performed in children from 4 to 15 years old, the average age was 11±3 years; The female sex predominated in 34.4%; The main reason for consultation was abdominal pain plus vomiting with an average duration of 29.6±22 hours; sign of muscular defense was present in 77.5%; the predominant appendiceal characteristic was phlegmonous in 51.3%;
The average length of hospital stay was 3±1.2 days and 71.3% of the children did not present acute complications.

Conclusion: Knowledge of the clinical characteristics of acute appendicitis is of utmost importance for the doctor in the Emergency Department for early diagnosis and therefore, an early appendectomy minimizes both intraoperative and postoperative complication rates.