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Purpose: Catarrhal appendicitis (CA) could be treated effectively with antibiotics in some patients because of the milder inflammation associated with this form of appendicitis. Although several trials have compared surgery with antibiotic therapy for acute appendicitis (AA), the indications for antibiotic therapy remain controversial. Methods: The subjects of this study were 342 patients who underwent appendectomy at our hospital between January, 2000 and March, 2013. The patients were divided into two groups based on the severity of their appendicitis: Group A comprised patients with severe appendicitis and Group B comprised patients with CA. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the clinical features associated with CA. Results: Multivariate analysis of the eight clinical features correlated with CA according to univariate analysis revealed that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ( <5/>5), age ( <38/>38 years), fever ( <38/>38 °C), white blood cell count ( <11.5/>11.5 × 10/mm) and serum level of C-reactive protein ( <110/>110 mg/L) were significantly associated with CA. The NLR ( <5/>5) (OR 0.421; 95 % CI 0.218-0.811; P = 0.010) was the most useful predictor of CA, because the area under the ROC curve of NLR was the lowest of all these features. Conclusion: The preoperative NLR in patients undergoing appendectomy is closely associated with CA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although surgical site infections (SSI) are a major postoperative complication of appendectomy, few studies have focused on the risk factors for SSI. In this study, we investigated the risk factors for SSI in patients who had undergone appendectomy. Methods: Three hundred patients who had undergone open appendectomy were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of SSI. A statistical analysis was performed to assess the clinical features associated with SSI after appendectomy. Results: A multivariate analysis using the results of univariate analyses revealed that the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level (≤65/>65, mg/l), length of the operation (≤80/>80, min) and pathology (catarrhal, phlegmonous/gangrenous) were associated with SSI. Among these three clinical features, only the CRP level was found to predict the risk of SSI prior to appendectomy (odds ratio 3.797; 95 % confidence intervals 1.305-11.04; P = 0.014). Conclusion: Preoperative elevation of the serum CRP level (>65 mg/l) is a valuable predictor of SSI in patients undergoing appendectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]