A Retrospective Study of Seasonal Variations of Acute Appendicitis
Abstract
Introduction: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies and appendectomy is one of the most common operations. The incidence of acute appendicitis ranges from 8.6 to 11 cases per 1000 persons/year. Lifetime risk of developing acute appendicitis is about 8.6% in males and 6.7% in females. There is no unifying hypothesis regarding aetiology of acute appendicitis. Aims: The study aimed to analyze the seasonal variations in the incidence of acute appendicitis. It also sought to identify patterns that could help in predicting peak periods and optimizing healthcare resource allocation. Materials & Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital, Midnapore, from 1st September 2021 to 31st August 2022. The study included a total of 380 patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis. Result: Out of 380 patients who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis, the highest incidence was observed in the summer season (June-August) with 132 cases (34.74%), followed by spring (March-May) with 101 cases (26.58%), autumn (September-November) with 93 cases (24.47%), and the lowest in winter (December-February) with 54 cases (14.21%). The seasonal variation was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). The incidence in summer was 20.53% higher than winter, 10.27% higher than autumn, and 8.16% higher than spring. Conclusion: We concluded that acute appendicitis incidence is increased significantly in the summer season. This seasonal variation is associated with various causes like dehydration, dietary habits, environmental factors like temperature, rainfall, humidity, hours of sunshine, air pollution and increased incidence of GI infections.Keywords:
Acute appendicitis, Seasonal variation, AppendectomyReferences
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