Abstract:
Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies worldwide,
characterized by inflammation of the appendix. The condition necessitates prompt diagnosis and
surgical intervention to prevent complications such as perforation, peritonitis, and sepsis, which can
be life-threatening. Despite the commonality of acute appendicitis, its prevalence, clinical
presentation, and outcomes can vary significantly across different regions and healthcare settings.
In this study setting (Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital), there is limited data on
assessment of the prevalence, clinical feature and treatment outcome of acute appendicitis.
Objective: To assess the prevalence, clinical feature and treatment outcome of acute appendicitis
among adult patients admitted to Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital from January 1,
2019 to December 31, 2023. Data collection was conducted from October 1-30, 2024.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed among patients admitted to
Hiwot Fana Comprehensive specialized hospital with clinical diagnosis of appendicitis. The sample
size was 330 and census type sampling techniques applied. Data were extracted from patient chart
using structured data collection format. After data quality checked. Data were collected by kobo
toolbox and transferred into SPSS version 27 for analysis. Descriptive analysis was computed and
described in text, graph and tables.Out of 1818 patient underwent surgery from emergency department, Appendectomy were
performed for 309 (16.99%) patients. The most common clinical presentation, incision type and
intra-operative findings was periumbilical pain shifting to right lower quadrant (89%), right lower
quadrant transverse (98.7%) and inflamed appendix with inflammatory peritoneal fluid (73.46%),
respectively. Only 29 patients (9.36%) developed complications in the post-operative period. The
mean hospital stay was 3.2 days.
Conclusions: In this study the prevalence of acute appendicitis is 16.99 %. The most common
clinical presentation, incision type and intra-operative findings was periumbilical pain shifting to
RLQ, right lower quadrant transverse and inflamed appendix with inflammatory peritoneal fluid
respectively. Only 29 patients (9.36%) developed complications in the post-operative period.
