ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical course and pregnancy outcome, according to perforation or no perforation of appendix, in the patients who went through the appendectomy for acute appendicitis during pregnancy. METHODS: We reviewed the chart of paients who went through the appendectomy for acute appendicitis during pregnancy in department of general surgery of the Catholic University of Korea Holy Family Hospital and St. mary's Hospital from January 1994 to May 2004. RESULTS: The incidence rate of acute appendicitis during pregnancy (56.1%) was highest at the 2nd trimester of pregnancy. There was not significant difference in clinical course, subjective symptoms, physical examination results, and the incidence rate of leukocytosis between non-perforated appendicitis (NPAPP) group and perforated appendicits (PAPP) group. The incidence rate of pregnancy loss that was spontaneous abortion and intrauterine fetal death, was 2.9% in NPAPP group and 7.7% in PAPP group, but, there was not significant differnence between two groups. There was not also significant difference in the incidence rate of low birth weight for gestational age. We could find nothing for fetal anomaly. Finally, the term delivery rate was 92.8% and 92.3% in each of the two groups, and patients had no obstetrical and surgical complications. CONCLUSION: In this study, we could find that perforation or no perforation of appendix wieghed with the clinical course, objective symptoms, examination results, and pregnancy outcome of patients. But, we thought that the larger population of perforation group would be needed for more accurate results.