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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2002) 181: 526-530
© 2002 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Long-term hospital attendance of children and adults who have undergone removal of normal or inflamed appendices

NICOLA J. DUMMETT

St James's University Hospital, Leeds

NICOLA J. MAUGHAN

Leeds General Infirmary

ANNE WORRALL-DAVIES

Academic Unit of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Leeds, UK

Correspondence: Dr Nicola J. Dummett, Child and Family Unit, St James's University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK

Declaration of interest None.

Background Early studies suggested that presentations with unexplained acute abdominal pain were associated with increased long-term rates of hospital attendance and self-harm, especially in women, but few studies were large enough for definitive findings.

Aims To test the hypothesis that such presentations are followed by higher long-term utilisation rates of secondary health care even excluding further abdominal symptoms, and particularly for self-harm, than presentations with acute appendicitis.

Method New hospital attendance rates, liaison psychiatry attendances and self-harm attendances of patients with normal appendices at emergency appendicectomy were compared with those of appendicitis patients.

Results Attendance rates of all kinds were significantly higher for normal appendix patients than for appendicitis patients, with equal strengths of finding for males and females.

Conclusions People with normal appendices at emergency appendicectomy show higher long-term rates of hospital attendance. This has implications for how these patients are best managed by health care systems.


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