ABSTRACT
To compare the rate of surgical site infection [SSI] in patients undergoing open and laparoscopic appendectomy. Randomised controlled trial. Surgical "A" unit, Department of Surgery Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar, from March 2008 to February 2011. Patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of acute appendicitis were randomly allocated into two groups, A and B. Group A patients were subjected to open appendectomy [OA] and Group B to laparoscopic appendectomy [LA]. Patients demographics including age, gender and wound infection in terms of SSI were recorded on a proforma. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 11 with proportions and mean +/- SD calculated for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Probability = 0.05 was taken as significant. Two hundred and ninety two patients were analyzed [146 in group A and 146 in group B]. The mean age of patients in group A was 26.5 +/- 7.1 year and 25.2 +/- 6.5 year in group B. The male to female ratio in group A was 1.21:1 compared to 1.28:1 in group B. Surgical site infection was observed in 10 patients in group A and in 6 patients in group B. There was no significant difference between the two procedures regarding overall SSI rate [p= 0.304]. Laparoscopic appendectomy did not offer significant advantage over open appendicectomy in terms of SSI