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Abstract

Globally, acute appendicitis is the most commonly performed surgical emergency of the abdomen. The present study was conducted to report on the duration of stay at hospitals after open appendectomy, histopathological abnormalities, and postoperative complications among patients who undergo open appendectomy in Palestinian surgical practice. The study was conducted using a retrospective observational design in which patient records (n = 100) were identified, sampled, and included in the analysis. The study was conducted at one of the main hospitals in Hebron District in the West Bank of Palestine. Of the patients included, 52% were less than 18 years old, 59% were male in gender, 64% were discharged in 2 or less days, 80% had histopathological abnormalities detected, 97% had their appendices removed, and the vast majority (94%) did not have any postoperative complications. Of the 80 patients in which their specimens had histopathological abnormalities, phlegmonous appendicitis was prevalent in 49 patients (61.3% of the cases). Postoperative complications were documented in 6% of patients. Postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer for patients who had abnormal histopathology (p value < 0.05), abdominal drainage (p value < 0.01), and those with postoperative complications (p value < 0.01). Patients who were less than 18 years old had significantly higher number of specimens with no histopathological abnormalities (Fish-er's exact test = 8.74, p value < 0.05). Male patients had significantly higher number of phlegmonous appendicitis cases compared to female patients (Fisher's exact test = 13.0, p value < 0.05). Patients who had phlegmonous appendicitis tended to stay longer than patients who had other histopathological abnormalities (Fisher's exact test = 18.7, p value < 0.01). In conclusion, open appendectomies are still commonly performed in the Palestinian surgical practice with comparatively low incidence of postoperative complications. Future studies should be directed at reducing postoperative complications, improving patient outcomes, and reducing hospital stay.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.59049/2790-0231.1014

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