Table 2.
Basic demographics and risk factors for complicated appendicitis
| Uncomplicated appendicitis (n = 650) | Complicated appendicitis (n = 187) | AUROC† | Odds ratio† | P § | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years)* | 44 (33–56) | 55 (41–67) | 0.655 (0.610, 0.700) | < 0.001¶ | |
| Age 45 years or more | 321 (49.4) | 131 (70.1) | 2.40 (1.69, 3.40) | < 0.001 | |
| Male sex | 314 (48.3) | 88 (47.1) | 0.95 (0.69, 1.32) | 0.763 | |
| Laparoscopic surgery | 542 (83.4) | 143 (76.5) | 0.65 (0.44, 0.96) | 0.031 | |
| Pre-CT delay (h)* | 28.7 (16.5–45.4) | 38.6 (24.6–58.2) | 0.632 (0.586, 0.678) | < 0.001¶ | |
| Preoperative delay (h)* | 9.3 (5.5–14.2) | 7.8 (4.8–12.9) | 0.446 (0.400, 0.493) | 0.026¶ | |
| Total delay (h)* | 38.7 (27.1–55.7) | 50.6 (34.3–69.8) | 0.620 (0.574, 0.667) | < 0.001¶ | |
| Pre-CT delay over 48 h | 154 (23.7) | 81 (43.3) | 2.46 (1.75, 3.46) | < 0.001 | |
| Appendicolith on CT | 159 (24.5) | 93 (49.7) | 3.06 (2.18, 4.28) | < 0.001 | |
| Periappendiceal fluid on CT | 40 (6.2) | 32 (17.1) | 3.15 (1.92, 5.18) | < 0.001 | |
| Extraluminal air on CT | 5 (0.8) | 6 (3.2) | 4.28 (1.29, 14.17) | 0.010 | |
| Any risk factor‡ on CT | 188 (28.9) | 112 (59.9) | 3.67 (2.62, 5.15) | < 0.001 | |
| No risk factor‡ on CT | 462 (71.1) | 75 (40.1) | 0.27 (0.18, 0.38) | < 0.001 | |
| WBC count (109/l)* | 12.0 (9.1–14.7) | 12.6 (9.8–15.8) | 0.559 (0.512, 0.607) | 0.013¶ | |
| WBC count >13×109/l | 256 (39.4) | 89 (47.6) | 1.40 (1.01, 1.94) | 0.044 | |
| CRP (mg/l)* | 35 (9–79) | 78 (37–158) | 0.696 (0.653, 0.739) | < 0.001¶ | |
| CRP >50 mg/l | 267 (41.1) | 123 (65.8) | 2.76 (1.96, 3.87) | < 0.001 | |
| CRP >100 mg/L | 105 (16.2) | 80 (42.8) | 3.88 (2.72, 5.55) | < 0.001 | |
| Body temperature (°C)* | 37.1 (36.7–37.5) | 37.5 (37.1–38.0) | 0.687 (0.643, 0.731) | < 0.001¶ | |
| Body temperature >37.0°C | 342 (52.6) | 141 (75.4) | 2.76 (1.91, 3.98) | < 0.001 | |
| Body temperature ≥38.0°C | 64 (9.8) | 56 (29.9) | 3.91 (2.61, 5.87) | < 0.001 | |
| Atema score* | 4 (4–7) | 9 (6–11) | 0.775 (0.736, 0.814) | < 0.001¶ | |
| Atema score >6 | 183 (28.2) | 129 (69.0) | 5.68 (3.98, 8.09) | < 0.001 | |
| Antibiotics started before entering theatre | 396 (60.9) | 155 (82.9) | 3.11 (2.06, 4.69) | < 0.001 | |
| Antibiotics administered >2 h before surgery | 369 (56.8) | 138 (73.8) | 2.15 (1.50, 3.08) | < 0.001 | |
| Time from CT to first antibiotic dose (h)* | 3.3 (1.8–6.6) | 2.2 (0.3–4.4) | 0.374 (0.327, 0.422) | < 0.001¶ | |
| Time from first antibiotic dose to surgery (h)* | 4.0 (0.0–10.0) | 4.4 (1.8–9.5) | 0.552 (0.509, 0.595) | 0.027¶ | |
| Proportion of time from start of antibiotics to surgery from preoperative delay (%)* | 56.6 (0–82.3) | 71.4 (37.3–93.0) | 0.627 (0.582, 0.672) | < 0.001¶ | |
| Transfer from another hospital for surgery | 124 (19.1) | 31 (16.6) | 0.843 (0.547, 1.299) | 0.438¶ |
Values in parentheses are percentages unless indicated otherwise;
*values are median (i.q.r.); †values in parentheses are 95 per cent confidence intervals.
‡Appendicolith, periappendiceal fluid or extraluminal air. AUROC, area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve; WBC, white blood cell; CRP, C-reactive protein.
§Pearson’s χ2 test, except
¶Mann–Whitney U test.