ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2015
Trends and outcomes in the utilization of laparoscopic appendectomies in a low-income population in Taiwan from 2003 to 2011.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Laparoscopic versus open surgery for suspected appendicitis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Saline solution vs. stabilized isotonic sodium hypochlorite lavage in complicated appendicitis: a comparative study.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2026Article
- Does medical disparity exist while treating severe mental illness patients with acute appendicitis in emergency departments? A real-world database study.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Exploration of Medical Trajectories of Stroke Patients Based on Group-Based Trajectory Modeling.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Does the Short-Term Effect of Air Pollution Influence the Incidence of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Different Patient Groups? Big Data Analysis in Taiwan.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNumerous epidemiological studies have compared outcomes between laparoscopic appendectomies (LA) and open appendectomies (OA); however, few studies have assessed the efficacy of LA specifically in a low-income population (LIP).
methodsWe analyzed the trends in the utilization and outcomes of LA versus OA in an LIP in Taiwan using data from the National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database.
resultsSteady temporal growth trends were observed for the patients who underwent LA in both the LIP and general population (GP); however, in each study year, the proportion of LIP patients who underwent LA was lower than the proportion of GP patients who underwent the procedure. The LIP patients were more susceptible to payment policies than the GP patients; thus, more attention should be paid to vulnerable patient populations when formulating and revising NHI payment policies. Compared with OAs, LAs were associated with a slightly higher rate of routine patient discharges and a lower rate of in-hospital complications (1.48% vs. 3.76%, p < 0.05). The rate of readmission for complications was lower in patients after LA than in patients after OA (1.64% vs. 3.89%, p < 0.05). The overall case-fatality rate of LIP patients who underwent LA was lower than that of those who underwent OA. LA was correlated with a significantly shorter length of hospital stay (LOS) compared with OA (3.80 ± 0.08 vs. 5.51 ± 0.11, p < 0.05). The average hospital cost for LA was slightly less than that for OA (1178 ± 13 vs. 1191 ± 19 USD, p < 0.05). A higher percentage of patients who underwent OA required an LOS longer than 14 days compared to patients who underwent LA (7.73% vs. 1.97%, p < 0.05). Regarding hospital costs and LOS, LA showed significant advantages over OA in the subpopulations of male patients, patients 45 years old and older, patients with Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) scores of two or more, and patients with complicated cases of appendicitis.
conclusionThe LIP patients benefited more from the LA approach than the OA approach in the treatment of appendicitis, especially regarding LOS, in-hospital complications, in-hospital mortality, and routine discharge rates.
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