Appendiceal inflammation affects the length of stay following appendicectomy amongst children: a myth or reality?

The effect of the severity of appendiceal inflammation on post-operative stay in children following appendicectomy has shown conflicting results. This study was conducted to determine the association between the severity of appendiceal inflammation and post-operative stay amongst children undergoing open appendicectomy. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a District General Hospital for two years. A total of 204 patients were included in the study with an age range between 3 and 16 years. Females were 54.9% while the rest were male. Mean age was 12.5 ± 3 years. The association of the severity of appendiceal inflammation and post-operative stay was assessed by multivariable Cox Proportional hazards model. Mean post-operative stay was 2.32 days (95% CI 2.14-2.51). Macroscopically perforated appendix, histological inflammation and post-operative complications were significantly associated with post-operative stay on univariable analysis (P < 0.05). Whereas, the multivariable analysis showed that the post-operative stay was significantly prolonged only in case of either perforated appendix or post-operative complications while it remained unaffected by the histological inflammation.