Prevalence of Normal Pathology among Patients Operated with Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis in Jiroft

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common causes of abdominal surgery, the diagnosis of which is made mostly based on clinical symptoms and imaging, leading to appendectomy surgery; but in some cases, the post-operation results show that there has been no appendicitis. This is called a negative or normal appendectomy. This study was performed with the aim of evaluating the frequency of normal pathology in patients who underwent surgery with the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Jiroft, Iran.

This study was a cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study. 95 patients undergoing surgery with diagnosis of acute appendicitis in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Jiroft in 2019 were selected using census method and entered the study. The required information was extracted from the patients' medical records and recorded in a researcher-made checklist. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Independent t-test,chi-square, and Fisher's test with SPSS version 18 statistical software.

48.5% of the participants were male and 51.5% were female. Normal appendectomy was observed in 9 patients (9.5%). The frequency distribution of negative appendectomy was statistically significant based on the age of the patients and was more common at the age of 30 to 50 years (P = 0.027) .The other studied variables had no correlation with normal appendectomy.

The results of the present study showed that a normal appendectomy is observed in one in ten patients undergoing surgery, which shows more favorable results in Jiroft compared to other statistics provided. Correct and regular use of assessment methods can help significantly reduce the rate of negative appendicectomy.