Clinicopathological Profile of Appendicular Disease in Children: A Tertiary Health Care Center Study

Background Acute appendicitis (AA) is the most common surgical emergency worldwide. Delay in diagnosis of disease often leads to serious complications such as perforation appendicitis (PA) and gangrenous appendicitis (GA). Aims and objectives The purpose of the study is to document clinicopathological outcomes in pediatric age group patients in a tertiary health care center. Material and method This study was a prospective observation study of 50 patients with pediatric appendicitis who had undergone emergency appendectomy from January 2022 to December 2022. All pediatric patients below 15 years of age with a diagnosis of AA were included. Institute ethical permission was granted before the study, and parent consent was taken for the surgery and also for inclusion in the study. After proper resuscitation, all patients underwent appendectomy, and necessary specimens were sent for histological examination. Based on histopathology reports, all patients were classified into four groups: AA, PA, GA, and normal appendix (NA). Results Out of 50 patients, 33 (66%) patients were males and 17 (34%) patients were females. The mean age of the patients was 10.22 ± 2.73 years. The mean age of AA, PA, GA, and NA patients were 10.25 ± 2.6 years, 9.78 ± 2.99 years, 10.00 ± 4.6 years, and 12.00 ± 2.8 years, respectively. The mean duration of symptoms at the time of hospital admission was 2.42 ± 0.97 days for histopathologically proven AA patients, 4.67 ± 2.1 days for GA patients, 2.8 ± 0.83 for PA patients, and one day for NA patients. Overall clinical presentation was right iliac fossa (RIF) pain in 36 (72%) patients, migration of pain in 31 (62%) patients, anorexia in 37 (74%) patients, nausea and vomiting in 43 (86%) patients fever in 26 (52%) patients, RIF tenderness in 50 (100%) patients, rebound tenderness in 39 (78%) patients, guarding in 19 (38%) patients, Psoas's sign in nine (18% patients), and Rovsing's sign in 19 (38%) patients. On histopathological examination of the sent specimen, AA was found in 36 (72%) patients, PA was found in nine (18%) patients, GA was found in three (6%) patients, and NA was found in two (4%) patients. Wound infection was the most common complication and was found in five (10%) patients. The average duration of hospital stay for AA, PA, GA, and NA was 4.33 ± 1.04 days, 9.56 ± 4.2 days, 12.33 ± 8.5 days, and 3.50 ± 0.71 days, respectively. Conclusion The appendicular disease is common in teenage male children. Fever, dehydration, and rebound tenderness at the RIF are clinically significant findings. Duration of symptoms at the time of diagnosis, post-appendectomy complication, and duration of hospital stay significantly correlated with histopathological findings.