Epidemiology of appendectomy and appendicitis in the Valencian community (Spain), 1998-2007.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Our purpose was to study the incidence of appendectomy and appendicitis in the Valencian community (Spain) during a period of 10 years (1998-2007).

METHODS

Data on discharge diagnoses of appendectomy and appendicitis were downloaded from all public hospitals in the Valencian community.

RESULTS

We identified 44,683 cases of appendectomies and 42,742 cases of appendicitis (95.7%) during the study period. The age-standardized incidence rates among men ranked between 132.1 cases per 100,000 population in 2003 and 117.46 cases per 100,000 population in 2000 without a clear trend through the study period. The appendiceal perforation rate was 12.1% and the negative appendectomy rate 4.3%. The global mortality was 0.38%.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of appendectomy in our community presents a slight descending trend. This decline is more intense in females. The appendix perforation rate is lower than in other studies. The death rate is similar to other studies; however, it is very low in patients of younger age.