Recent trend of acute appendicitis during pregnancy.

PURPOSE: We report the clinical presentation, management and outcomes of 33 patients who underwent surgery for acute appendicitis during pregnancy between April 1997 and March 2011.

METHODS

Several variables were compared between these 33 patients (pregnant group, n = 33) and non-pregnant females aged 20-40 years who underwent an acute appendectomy during the same period (control group, n = 124).

RESULTS

No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of the type of anesthesia, operative method, duration of surgery, pathology, duration of antibiotic use, and incidence of surgical site infection, except for a higher frequency of pararectal incision performed and higher leukocyte counts in the pregnant group (P < 0.01). Tocolytic agents were administered to 17 patients (52%). Preterm labor occurred in 10 patients (30%), one of whom experienced preterm delivery.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that acute appendicitis during pregnancy can be managed successfully without fetal loss.