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Acute appendicitis
What's new
Updated 2024 IDSA guidelines for diagnostic imaging and microbiological testing in acute appendicitis .
Background
Overview
Definition
Acute appendicitis is a disease resulting from acute inflammation of the vermiform appendix.
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Pathophysiology
Acute appendicitis is initiated by a process that causes obstruction of the appendiceal lumen, such as fecaliths, lymphoid hyperplasia, parasites, Crohn's disease, foreign bodies, or neoplasms.
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Epidemiology
The incidence of acute appendicitis is estimated at 110 per 100,000 person-years in the US, with a male predominance.
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Disease course
Progressive luminal obstruction is associated with inflammation and distension of the appendix, leading to suppurative transmural inflammation, ischemia, infarction, and perforation. Perforated appendicitis progresses to generalized peritonitis and intra-abdominal abscess formation.
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Prognosis and risk of recurrence
The mortality rate associated with non-perforated appendicitis is 0.8 per 1,000 individuals, whereas, for perforated appendicitis, it increases to 5.1 per 1,000 individuals. The risk of recurrent appendicitis after interval appendicectomy is about 20% within a year. Recurrent appendicitis may also occur in the setting of previous appendicectomy in patients with a long appendiceal stump.
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Guidelines
Key sources
The following summarized guidelines for the evaluation and management of acute appendicitis are prepared by our editorial team based on guidelines from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP 2024,2018), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA 2024), the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES 2024), the Surgical Infection Society (SIS 2024), the American College of Radiology (ACR ...
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