Does in-hospital delay of more than 12 hours increase the risk of perforation in adults with appendicitis?
In-hospital delay exceeding 12 hours before appendectomy independently increases the risk of perforation, leading to worse clinical outcomes.
In-hospital delay negatively influences outcome after appendectomy. In-hospital delay of more than 12 h, age over 65 years, time of admission during regular hours, and the presence of co-morbidity are all independent risk factors for perforation. Perforation was associated with a higher reintervention rate and increased length of hospital stay.
Busch et al. (Wed,) studied this question.