Geographical Variation, Gender and Interleukin 8 Relationships with Appendicitis in Residents of Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Abstract

Appendicitis is characterized by inflammation of the vermiform appendix accompanied by systemic inflammatory response in 
humans. In most cases, emergency surgical intervention is required because it is the leading general surgical cause of death. 
Nevertheless, accurate diagnosis is still a challenge because of the variation in its manifestations. This work evaluated the role 
of gender, seasonal variation and the immunohistochemical expression of IL-8 cytokine in appendicitis patients attending Federal 
Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa. A total of 313 appendicitis patients were recruited for the study from January 2015 to December 
2020. Results shows that seasonal variation affect appendicitis outcome with statistically significant increase in number of cases 
recorded in summer compared to winter. Females presented with more cases than males among subjects studied, accounting for 
56.9% (n = 178) and males 43.1% (n=135) of survey subjects. Interleukin 8 was markedly expressed in the appendicitis tissue 
across age, gender and seasons. The study observed the clinical relevance of interleukin 8 in the prediction or diagnosis of 
appendicitis within the population studied. Risk factors should be monitored more in summer to reduce the occurrence of 
appendicitis in human population.