Appendicitis is a Severe Disease in Elderly Patients: A Twenty-Year Audit

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Life expectancy has increased substantially. Elderly patients currently represent a large part of patients requiring emergency abdominal surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the postoperative outcomes of elderly patients who underwent appendectomy in a single French tertiary center. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 2014. We used the French threshold of ≥ 75 y-old to define elderly patients. Hence, elderly patients who underwent appendectomy were compared to the younger group. Unsuspected presence of an appendiceal neoplasm was higher (7.7%) in the elderly population. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the fact that appendicitis in the elderly is associated with a higher rate of complicated appendicitis, morbidity, and mortality.