Leaving no stone unturned: Impact of appendicolith and characteristics on long-term recurrence after non-operative appendicitis

Table 1 Patient demographics and clinical presentation by appendicolith presence, n (%)

Variable		Total (n = 797)	No appendicolith (non-AG) (n = 729)	Appendicolith (AG) (n = 68)	P value
Gender	Female	362 (45.4)	333 (45.8)	29 (42.7)	0.62
	Male	434 (54.6)	395 (54.3)	39 (57.3)
Age (years) mean ± SD		25.4 ± 14.4	25.5 ± 14.4	25.3 ± 14.4	0.94
Length of pain prior to admission (hours), mean ± SD		39.3 ± 61.5	38.8 ± 62.3	44.2 ± 52.3	0.94
Fever at home		85 (10.6)	79 (10.9)	6 (8.8)	0.75
Temperature at admission (celsius), mean ± SD		36.7 ± 0.6	36.7 ± 0.6	36.8 ± 0.7	0.94
Heart rate on admission, mean ± SD		89.0 ± 19.5	89.1 ± 19.5	87.9 ± 18.8	0.62
White blood count (× 109/L), mean ± SD		11.4 ± 3.9	11.4 ± 3.9	11.8 ± 4.5	0.62
C-reactive protein (mg/dL), mean ± SD		3.3 ± 5.4	3.2 ± 5.2	3.7 ± 6.9	0.62
Ultrasound performed		462 (58.0)	422 (58.1)	40 (58.8)	0.88
Computed tomography performed		460 (57.7)	419 (57.6)	41 (60.3)	0.65
Radiological findings	Largest appendix diameter (mm), mean ± SD	8.7 ± 2.4	8.5 ± 2.2	10.2 ± 1.4	0.001
	Free fluid on imaging	229 (28.7)	203 (27.9)	26 (38.2)	0.08
Length of stay, median (IQR), day		2.6 (2-3)	2.6 (2-3)	2.8 (1-3)	0.43
Recurrence of appendicitis		158 (19.8)	139 (19.1)	18 (26.5)	0.14
Time to recurrence (months), mean ± SD		5.7 ± 8.3	5.9 ± 8.1	3.9 ± 10.4	0.04
Pathology at readmission	Normal appendix	11 (1.4)	10 (1.4)	1 (1.5)	0.01
	Inflamed	126 (15.8)	117 (16.1)	9 (13.2)
	Perforated	10 (1.3)	6 (0.8)	4 (5.9)
	Neoplasia	5 (0.6)	4 (0.5)	1 (1.5)
Follow up, median (IQR), months		44.2 (31.9-63.1)	46.2 (32.1-65.0)	35.8 (24.0-53.4)	0.001

AG: Appendicolith group; IQRs: Interquartile ranges.