Why is the rate of perforated appendicitis higher in girls in eastern Turkey, unlike the literature?

AIM: Appendicitis is the most common cause of surgical abdominal pain in children. The incidence of appendicitis is higher in boys than girls. Delay in diagnosis may result in perforation of the appendix. Aim of this study is, to examine the terms of gender distribution of perforated appendicitis cases in eastern Turkey. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients who underwent appendectomy in our clinic between the years of 2017–2018 were classified according to histopathology results as acute appendicitis and perforated appendicitis. Two groups was evaluated in term of; the age, gender, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Of the patients included in the study, 168 were male and 99 were female. The incidence of perforated appendicitis was higher in girls (%59), (p=0,001) and acute appendicitis was higher in boys (%63), (p=0,001). The mean age was 11.44±3.50 years in acute appendicitis and 9.22±4.26 years in perforated appendicitis. In perforated appendicitis, the mean length of hospital stay (6,73 day) was longer than acute appendicitis (2,59 day) (p=0,001). In addition, the mean length of hospital stay (8,13 day) for girls with perforated appendicitis was statistically significantly longer than boys (6,03 day), (p=0,001). CONCLUSION: While diagnosing appendicitis in the east of Turkey; living environment of the child, education level of the family, socioeconomic status and cultural structure of the society must be considered. It should not be forgotten that the rate of perforated appendicitis in girls is higher than boys in this region.