Short- and long-term mortality after appendectomy in Sweden 1987-2006: influence of appendectomy diagnosis, sex, age, co-morbidity, surgical method, hospital volume, and time period--a national population based cohort study.

摘要

This article is Roland Andersson's most recent addition to his important body of work focused on appendicitis and appendectomy [1]. Using a large Swedish database, Andersson has reaffirmed what previous studies in the Unites States [2] and the United Kingdom [3] have also demonstrated: negative exploration for suspected appendicitis and subsequent so-called negative appendectomy (NA), often considered by surgeons to be a harmless procedure, may not be benign and may be a marker of something worse. There are several important outcomes in appendectomy patients. Although we disagree with Andersson that "avoiding mortality is the ultimate goal in the management of patients with suspected appendicitis" (emphasis added), the data presented in this paper suggest that both long-term and short-term mortality may be adversely affected when patients who are incorrectly diagnosed with appendicitis undergo appendectomy.