EGS SO31 - Does in-hospital delay in appendicectomy lead to complicated appendicitis and affect post operative outcome - a single centre study

Abstract Background Acute appendicitis is one of the most common reasons for emergency general surgical admissions in the U.K. The standard treatment for acute appendicitis is emergency appendicectomy. However, the urgency to operate on patients admitted to hospital with acute appendicitis has been widely debated, with no current standard guideline to follow. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of in-hospital delay in appendicectomy on intra operative findings of complicated appendicitis. The secondary outcome measures were the requirement of a surgical drain, overall length of stay, post-operative complications and re-admission rates. Method This was a single centre retrospective study. All patients who underwent an emergency appendicectomy, between 01/09/2023 and 30/11/2023 were included in this study. Hospital electronic patient records were screened to record the time of decision to operate, surgical start time, the delay between decision to operate and surgical start, intra-operative findings, and post-operative course. A total of 105 patients were included. These were divided into two sub-groups based on the delay between decision to operate and surgical start time; patients who had surgery within 12-hours (early) and those who had surgery after 12-hours (delayed) from the decision to operate time. Results Surgery was performed within 12-hours in 42% cases. The remaining 68% had more than a 12-hour delay, with almost 1 in 4 cases (26 /105) delayed over 24 hours. 15% cases (16) with uncomplicated appearance on pre-op imaging and delayed more than 12-hours progressed to complicated appendicitis intra-operatively. Surgical drains were required in 10% delayed cases and 6% early cases. The median length of stay was 2-days in delayed, compared to 1 day in cases performed early. Post-operative complications were higher in cases early. Although majority of these had complicated appearance in pre-op imaging. Both groups had same readmission rate. Conclusion Our study found that in-hospital delay in appendicectomy can potentially result in increased length of stay, higher rate of requirement of surgical drains and progression from imaging severity. This needs better prioritisation and theatre allocation.