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. 2025 Apr 29;25(1):336.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05447-5.

Complicated appendicitis and associated risk factors among children

Molla Azmeraw  1 , Biruk Beletew Abate  2 , Dessie Temesgen  2 , Sefineh Fenta Feleke  3 , Ribka Nigatu Haile  2 , Melsew Dagne Abate  4 , Tegene Atamenta Kitaw  2
Affiliations

Complicated appendicitis and associated risk factors among children

Molla Azmeraw et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Complicated appendicitis is one of significant pediatric surgical care challenges and its burden varied from 5 to 75%. However, there is limited study about prevalence of complicated appendicitis among children in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of complicated appendicitis among children in Amhara region, Ethiopia.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was employed. The data extraction tool was used to collect data from 423 sampled participants. Simple random sampling technique was used. The data was presented using table, and text forms. The data was also summarized by proportion and frequency depends on the data type. The logistic model was fitted. Any statistical test considered significant at P-value < 0.05.

Result: A total of 406 study participants were included for analysis. The prevalence of complicated appendicitis was 32.02%, 95%CI(27.64%, 36.74%). Duration of symptom greater than 24 h, aOR = 1.64, 95% CI (1.01,2.66)), and white blood cell count greater than 12,000 cells/µl aOR = 2.08, 95% CI (1.15,3.77) were statistically significant predictors of complicated appendicitis in children.

Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of complicated appendicitis was high as compared to the previous studies. Patient presentation after 24 h of symptom and white blood cell greater than 12000 cells/µl were significantly associated with complicated appendicitis. The surgical teams need to be aware that those children with greater white blood cell count and a chief compliant duration of greater than one day were present with complicated appendicitis.

Keywords: Appendectomy; Children; Complicated appendicitis; Cross-sectional; Ethiopia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical clearance was obtained from Woldia University Institutional Review Board (Woldia University IRB) on November 11, 2023. The research directorate office wrote a supportive letter for each selected respective comprehensive specialized hospital. In turn, an internal permission letter obtained from chief executive officers of each hospital to the health service departments within the hospital. The name and the medical record number of the participants were not included in the tool. The retrieved information was used only for the study purpose. This study did not expose the study participants to unnecessary risk due to reviewing their medical records. Due to the retrospective nature of the study, Woldia University Institutional Review Board waived the need of obtaining informed consent. Confidentiality was kept at all levels of the study. The data was also used only for this study purpose. The study was carried out according to the Declaration of Helsinki’s relevant guidelines and regulations. Furthermore, since this study is not a clinical trial, clinical trial number is not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic presentation of sampling procedure to select study participants to determine prevalence and associated factors of complicated appendicitis among children in Ethiopia, 2024
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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