Epidemiology

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common acute surgical abdominal emergencies. [4] More than 250,000 appendectomies are performed each year in the US; [5] however, the incidence is lower in populations where a high-fiber diet is consumed. [6] The overall lifetime risk of developing acute appendicitis is 8.6% for males and 6.7% for females; lifetime risk of appendectomy is around 12% in males and 23% in females. [7] [8] The rate of appendectomy is around 10 per 10,000 cases per year in the US. [9] This condition is most commonly seen in patients aged between early teens and late 40s. There is a slight male to female predominance (1.3:1).

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