Document Type : Research articles

Authors

• Mehmet Patmano
• Tufan Gumu?
• Hasan Elkan

MD., ?anl?urfa Training and Research Hospital, Department of General Surgery, ?anl?urfa, Turkey

Abstract

Background: Refugees may have problems in recognizing their illnesses and accessing treatment due to communication and sociocultural factors.
Objectives: This study aimed to present whether there was a difference in complicated appendicitis rates between Turkish and refugee patients.
Methods: A total of 563 patients who underwent appendectomy surgery in our hospital between September 2018 and June 2020 and met the study criteria were examined in this study. The patients were divided into two groups of Turkish (Group 1) and refugee (Group 2) patients. The demographic, clinical, and histopathological characteristics of the patients were compared in this study.
Results: Groups 1 and 2 consisted of 489 (86.9%) and 74 (13.1%) patients, respectively. Moreover, there were 278 (56.9%) and 36 (48.6%) male patients in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. The median age of all patients was obtained at 28 (age range: 18-81 years), and the median (interquartile range ages of the Turkish and refugee patients were estimated at 28 (age range: 23-36) and 27 (age range 21-36) years, respectively. Perforated appendix detection rate, open appendectomy ratio, preoperative C-reactive protein level, histopathological gangrenous or perforated appendicitis ratio, and postoperative hospital stay length were found higher in the refugee patients (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Refugee patients are intense in countries, such as Turkey. It is believed that general surgery specialists should consider the possibility of complicated appendicitis in refugee patients scheduled for surgery for acute appendicitis.

Keywords

• General Surgery
• Acute Appendicitis
• English
• Appendicitis
• Appendectomy
• Complicated appendicitis
• Perforation
• Refugee