Acute Appendicitis in Pregnancy: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study

During pregnancy, acute appendicitis is responsible for about two-thirds of nontraumatic surgical emergencies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the group of pregnant patients differs from the group of the normal population in perioperative features and whether surgery during pregnancy affects its further course.

We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 1,054 patients who underwent surgery for signs of acute appendicitis. The cohort included 16 pregnant patients (1.5%), 6 patients (37.5%) in the first trimester, 10 patients (62.5%) in the second. Perioperative features of the groups were compared, and postoperative course of pregnancy was followed.

We discovered that pregnant patients had a higher ratio of negative appendectomies (25% vs. 5.3%, p = 0.010) and shorter operating time (40 min vs. 51 min, p = 0.013).

Based on our data, acute appendectomy in pregnancy is associated with a higher rate of negative appendectomy and shorter operating time. Due to the small number of pregnant patients in the group and the occurrence of only one first trimester miscarriage of unknown etiology, it is not possible to clearly draw conclusion about the impact of acute appendectomy on the further course of pregnancy and further investigation is needed.