parasitic appendicitis from past to present in turkey

background:   understanding the etiology of appendicitis is important for developing effective treatments the rela­tionship between parasitic appendicitis and various socio-cultural factors were examined, particu­larly with respect to the incidence of literacy. the aim of the article was to research the relations between para­sitic appendicitis and literacy ratio in population. methods : cases of parasitic appendicitis resulting in surgery performed at buca seyfi demirsoy large state hospital surgery clinic between 2002 and 2009 were retrospectively reviewed and classified accord­ing to age, sex, type of parasite, morbidity, and mortality. studies conducted in different regions of turkey as well as in other countries were reviewed to determine if there was a relationship between para­sitic appendicitis and literacy. results : of the 1,969 appendectomy cases reviewed, nine were classified as parasitic appendicitis (0.45%). enterobius vermicularis was observed in seven cases and taenia spp. in two. the average age was 26.4 yr. no morbidity or mortality was found. conclusion : the data were compared with a retrospective review of studies conducted in the same regions and a decrease in the rate of parasitic appendicitis was observed during the period between the two re­views. it was determined that a low literacy rate was associated with an increase in the incidence of para­sitic appendicitis. observations made between different countries also produced similar results. in coun­tries where the incidence of parasitic appendiciticis was greater than 1.5%, the literacy rate was less than 88%. to avoid appendectomy resulting from parasites, it is important to increase education and literacy. in some areas, individuals with appendicitis undergo surgery due to a lack of education or poor literacy.