The Follow-up Pattern of Appendectomy Patients

Introduction.While post-operative appendectomy complications have been reported as high as 25%, there is little research on association between appendectomy follow-up patterns and complication rates.This study examined follow-up patterns of appendectomy patients, modifiable factors impacting follow-up, and their relationship with post-operative complications.Methods.This retrospective study included patients who underwent appendectomy July 2022-December 2023.Patients treated non-operatively with antibiotics were excluded.Patient followup status was defined as either in-person with Emergency General Surgery (EGS) Department or no-follow-up.Modifiable factors included having a social work consult, primary care provider (PCP) or gastroenterologist (GI) specialist involvement, and follow-up with another provider if EGS follow-up was missed.Demographic factors included insurance status and zip code.AAST Grade and Charleston Comorbidity Index Score were analyzed for their association with complications and follow-up pattern.Results.Of the 158 patients, insurance status was significantly associated with follow-up rates (p = 0.047), but AAST appendicitis grade was not (p = 0.888).Complications were not significantly associated with poverty rate (p = 0.799) or insurance status (p = 0.243).There was a higher mean poverty rate for those that did not follow-up (14.8) compared to those that did (12.6).Factors not significantly associated with complications or follow-up status included having a PCP, GI, or other provider (all p >0.05).Conclusions.Lack of follow-up does not appear to be associated with post-operative complications.Insurance status was significantly associated with follow-up.Most patients who did not follow-up had shorter hospital stays and would be expected to follow-up less.