TY - JOUR
A1 - Al-Mendalawi, Mahmood
A1 - Lattuf, Maha
T1 - Is there a seasonal distribution of acute appendicitis in Iraqi children?
Y1 - 2017/4/1
JF - Menoufia Medical Journal
JO - Menoufia Med J
SP - 572
EP - 574
VL - 30
IS - 2
UR - http://www.mmj.eg.net/article.asp?issn=1110-2098;year=2017;volume=30;issue=2;spage=572;epage=574;aulast=Al-Mendalawi
DO - 10.4103/1110-2098.215442
N2 - Objective
The aim of this study was to define the seasonal distribution of acute appendicitis (AA) in Iraqi children, if any, test the significant effect of age and sex on this distribution, and compare our results with those reported previously.
Background
AA is one of the most common causes of abdominal pain and indication for emergency abdominal surgery in children. The few anecdotal published studies have shown variable association of seasonality with AA in children.
Patients and methods
We carried out a retrospective study on 1091 pediatric appendectomies at Children's Welfare Teaching Hospital in Baghdad between 2009 and 2014. Data of age, sex, and monthly and seasonal distribution were obtained from medical files. Descriptive statistics and the c2-test were used to describe and analyze data, respectively.
Results
The highest rates (30.7 and 30.4%, respectively) were found in the winter and summer months, whereas the lowest rates (20.6 and 18.2%, respectively) were found in the spring and fall. Seasonality was not statistically associated with age (P = 0.120) or sex (P = 0.251).
Conclusion
The results indicate a seasonality of AA in the population studied. Pediatricians and pediatric surgeons should take into account this seasonality when evaluating children with acute abdominal pain. Further large-scale multicenter studies are recommended to confirm our observation.
ER -