The Global Incidence of Appendicitis

We compared the incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy across the world and evaluated temporal trends. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Population-based studies reported the incidence of appendicitis.

We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for population-based studies reporting the incidence of appendicitis or appendectomy. Time trends were explored using Poisson regression and reported as annual percent change (APC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). APC were stratified by time periods and pooled using random effects models. Incidence since 2000 was pooled for regions in the Western world.