Surgical Outcomes and Quality of Care Among Adult Appendicitis Patients: A Comparative Study of Tertiary Care Hospitals and Regional Hospitals

Background Acute appendicitis is one of the most common abdominal emergencies, with management approaches that vary depending on the available resources and setting. However, there is a lack of studies on the differences of surgical outcomes and quality of care between tertiary care hospitals and regional hospitals. Methods This multicenter retrospective study included 2158 consecutive adult patients between January 2014 and June 2018 at three hospitals. The patient cohort was divided into regional hospital group ( N = 1223) and tertiary care hospital group ( N = 935). Baseline characteristics and perioperative outcomes were compared, and factors associated with surgical delay and postoperative complication were investigated. Results Patients in tertiary care hospital group had longer surgical waiting time (17.3 vs. 12.0 h, p < 0.001), higher risks of surgical delay exceeding 24 h (OR = 2.94, 95% CI 2.17–4.01, p < 0.001), longer operation time (64 vs. 50 min, p < 0.001), more appendix perforation (22.4 vs. 13.3%, p < 0.001), and higher hospital cost compared with regional hospital group. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with surgical delay were tertiary care hospital (OR = 2.94, 95% CI 2.18–4.01, p < 0.001) and delay diagnosis (OR = 18.7, 95% CI 11.7–30.1, p < 0.001), while those associated with postoperative complications were older age (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 1.00–1.04, p = 0.013), male sex (OR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.11–5.52, p = 0.031), surgical delay (OR = 2.99, 95% CI 1.30–6.47, p = 0.007), and appendix perforation (OR = 5.61, 95% CI 2.72–11.85, p < 0.001). Conclusions Patients at tertiary care hospitals had longer waiting time, more surgical delays, and appendix perforations, and these were risk factors of postoperative complications. Establishing an effective referral system to redirect appendicitis patients with less complex medical histories from tertiary care hospitals to regional hospitals may enhance the quality of patient care and outcomes, while also reducing medical costs.