WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Ibtihal Younis Yassin, Dr. Rakan Ahmed Hamid, Dr. Ban Abdul-Ridha Salman Al Hashimi, Dr. Rafae H. Al kazzaz, Dr. Firas Hussam Ali, Dr. Zaid Muayad Yassen and Dr. Omia Fakhri Qassid

ABSTRACT

Background: Acute appendicitis is classically a surgical emergency, but it can also present as a chronic condition. It typically presents with generalized abdominal pain or periumbilical pain that may later radiate to the right lower quadrant. Nausea and vomiting may be present. Diagnosis is based on history, physical examination, general laboratory and radiological investigations. The cause of acute appendicitis is unknown, but it is likely multifactorial. The lifetime risk of developing acute appendicitis is six to seventeen percent globally. Objective: To evaluate risk factors of acute appendicitis among patients attending surgical hospitals in Mosul city. Patients & Methods: A descriptive, observational case-control study. The study was conducted at the level of three major surgical hospitals in Mosul city (Al-Jomhuri Hospital, Al-Salam Teaching Hospital, and Mosul General Hospital) with a sample size of 410, 205 for acute appendicitis cases and 205 for controls without acute appendicitis. Data was collected from 2nd January to 30th of June 2024. Result: The total number of cases was 205, of which 109 were males (53%) and 96 were females (47%), with a statistically significant difference between cases and controls (p-value = 0.045). First-degree family history of acute appendicitis was found among 160 (78%) cases compared to 92 (45%) controls with significant differences between them (p-value < 0.001). Acute appendicitis was found to be high among age groups < 35 years in 111 (54%), with statistically significant difference between cases and controls (p-value = 0.018). primary education level, overweight, smoking, and low fiber intake were found to be risk factors for acute appendicitis (p-value = 0.035, 0.045, 0.022, 0.003), respectively. Conclusions: The study showed that acute appendicitis is more common among male (53%) in comparism to female (47%) with statistically significant difference (p value =0.045), age of 35 years old and younger (54 %) with a first-degree family history of appendicitis(78%) is a risk factor for acute appendicitis; other risk factors such as being overweight, smoking, and low fiber intake(50%,54% and 20%) respectively are risk factors with significant differences between cases and controls in variable degrees. In this study there were 64% had gradual onset abdominal pain, 61% had right iliac fossa pain, 76% anorexia and 68% had constipation.