MSMR. 2012 Dec;19(12):7-12.
Appendicitis is common among young, healthy populations; appendectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in the United States. Among active and reserve component members, there were 31,610 cases of appendicitis and 30,183 appendectomies during 2002 to 2011. The overall incidence rate of appendicitis in the active component was 18.4 per 10,000 person-years (p-yrs). During the period the incidence rates of appendicitis in the active component and counts in the reserve component increased. Active component males reported greater rates of perforated appendicitis (2.6 per 10,000 p-yrs). Active component females had higher rates of incidental appendectomies (2.6 per 10,000 p-yrs). During the period there was a four-fold increase in outpatient appendectomies, a decrease in nonincidental appendectomies without a diagnosis of appendicitis ("negative appendectomies"), and a decrease in inpatient bed days. The findings likely reflect more frequent uses of and advances in diagnostic imaging to detect and characterize appendicitis and a shift in surgical treatment to the outpatient setting with increasing use of laparoscopy for appendectomies.
阑尾炎在年轻健康人群中很常见；阑尾切除术是美国最常见的外科手术之一。在2002年至2011年期间，现役和后备役军人中，有31,610例阑尾炎病例和30,183例阑尾切除术。现役军人中阑尾炎的总体发病率为每10,000人年18.4例（人年）。在此期间，现役军人中阑尾炎的发病率和后备役军人中的病例数有所增加。现役男性报告的穿孔性阑尾炎发病率更高（每10,000人年2.6例）。现役女性的意外阑尾切除术发生率更高（每10,000人年2.6例）。在此期间，门诊阑尾切除术增加了四倍，未诊断为阑尾炎的非意外阑尾切除术（“阴性阑尾切除术”）减少，住院天数减少。这些发现可能反映了诊断性成像在检测和表征阑尾炎方面的更频繁使用和进展，以及随着腹腔镜阑尾切除术的使用增加，手术治疗向门诊环境的转变。
