Epidemio-Clinical and Therapeutic Aspects of Acute Appendicitis at the Dioila Reference Health Center

Objective: To assess the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of appendicitis at the Dioïla Reference Health Center. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted in the surgery department of the Dioïla Reference Health Center. The records of patients admitted for acute appendicitis during the period from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023 were collected. Patients operated on for simple and complicated acute appendicitis were included in the study. Results: We collected the records of 221 patients operated on for acute appendicitis. They represented 16.9% of surgical procedures (n = 1301) and 67.4% (n = 328) of digestive surgical emergencies. The mean age was 28.4 ± 15.4 years. There was a male predominance (62.4%, n = 138) with a sex ratio of 1.7. Appendicitis was simple in 155 patients (70.1%) and complicated in 66 patients (29.9%). The occurrence of complicated forms was linked to a delay in consultation (p = 0.01). Appendectomy was performed in 219 patients (99.1%), the appendix was completely necrotic in 2 patients. The overall postoperative morbidity of appendicitis was 6.3% (n = 14). Mortality was zero. The average length of hospitalization was 3.1 ± 1.1 days. Conclusion: Acute appendicitis is common in Dioïla. Delay in consultation is associated with complicated forms. Laparotomy remains the only surgical approach in our department. Postoperative morbidity is high in complicated appendicitis and mortality is zero.