Children With Appendectomy Have Increased Risk of Future Sepsis:
Real-world Data in Taiwan
Abstract
Backgrounds Appendectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgeries
worldwide. Sepsis is an major etiology of morbidity and mortality in
children. Our preliminary research revealed a positive correlation among
appendectomy and future risk of sepsis in adults. However, to date, the
relationship among appendectomy and future risk of sepsis in children
remains unknown. The aim of this research was to investigate the
relationship among appendectomy and hazard of future sepsis in children.
Methods We applied a nationwide population-based cohort to assess
whether children who received appendectomy were at increased risk of
subsequent sepsis. Overall, 57261 subjects aged below 18 undergoing
appendectomy as appendectomy group and 57261 matched controls were
identified as non-appendectomy group from the National Health Insurance
Research Database in Taiwan. We use propensity score analysis to match
age, sex, urbanization level, and parental occupation at the ratio to
1:1. Multiple Cox regression and stratified analyses were used to
appraise the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for developing sepsis in
children. Results Children who received appendectomy had a 2.63 times
higher risk of developing sepsis than those who did not, and the risk
was even higher in children aged under 6 years. Patients with
<1 year follow-up showed a 5.64-fold risk of sepsis in the
appendectomy cohort. Patients with 1–4 and ≥5 years’ follow-up showed a
2.41- and 2.02-times risk of sepsis. Conclusion Appendectomy was
correlative to a 2.63-fold increased future sepsis risk in children, and
the risk in younger patients aged <6 years was even higher.
More studies to interpret the possible biological mechanisms of the
associations among sepsis and appendectomy are warrant