The Relationship between the Delay in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis and the Risk of Perforation: A Study at Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Kashan, 2010 -2012

Introduction & The relationship between the delay in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and the risk of perforation is not clear yet. The aim of this study is the reviewing of appendectomy cases in order to determine the incidence of perforation due to the delay in the diagnosis. Records of 508 patients who were operated on for acute appendicitis between years 2010-2012 in Shahid Beheshti hospital of Kashan were reviewed. Data gathered included age at the time of operation، gender، kind of appendicitis، duration of symptoms before diagnosis. Finally، the obtained data were entered into SPSS 16 software and were analyzed by using chi square، Fisher''s exact test. Out of 508 patients، 128 (25. 2%) had perforated appendicitis. The perforation rate in patients without diagnostic delay was 28. 9%، and in patients with diagnostic delay was 14. 1%. This difference was statistically significant)P-value