Background: Some authors consider acute appendicitis as the main cause of acute surgical abdomen. Incident in all ages, contemporary literature suggests that is more frequent in children and young adults, male predominantly. This study aims to test the hypothesis that the disease in question is no longer prevalent in young adults (excluding children) in the surveyed region.
Methods: 1150 cases of emergency surgery were performed and prospectively analyzed. 300 cases of appendicitis in adults were selected and variables studied. Patients under 13 years old were excluded.
Results: 190 patients older than 60 years had a diagnosis of acute appendicitis confirmed by biopsy. There is a predominance of males. The elderly population takes less time to seek medical assistance and has fewer complications, despite being more often admitted to the ICU due to other comorbidities.
Conclusions: A trend regarding acute appendicitis epidemiology may exist. In the specific studied region acute appendicitis is no longer a disease prevalent in young adults. Surgeons and emergency physicians must be aware that acute appendicitis may no longer be predominantly common in young adults in their own specific region. Multicenter studies are needed to determine whether these data are reproduced in a geographical area of greater extent.
Keywords: acute; prevalence; appendicitis.