RESUMO
The study aimed to study the demographic features, rates of negative appendectomies and rates of perforation in all patients submitted to appendectomy in a 10 -year period. A retrospective review of 3894 patients submitted to appendectomy in the period 1997-2006, in three teaching hospitals in north of Jordan was conducted. The analysis included the variables: age, sex, presence of inflammations, perforation or other pathological findings. The negative appendectomy rate was 23.2%. It was more in females [30.4%] compared to males [16.3%]. The perforation rate was 14.5%, which was found to be higher in males [16.5%] compared to that in females [12.1%], and was high in elderly patients [38.2%] and children below 11 years [21.7%].Our negative appendectomies and perforations are considered high [although it compares with many studies in literature]. This reinforces the need to rely more in ultrasonography, computerized tomography and laparoscopy