Evidence-based appendicitis: the initial work-up

Characteristics of appendicitis after immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy among cancer patients

PURPOSE

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has revolutionized cancer care but is associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Recent case reports raised the concern that acute appendicitis may be an irAE. In this study, we sought to describe the disease course of post-ICI therapy appendicitis and its associated complications.

METHODS

Adult patients who had an International Classification of Diseases code for appendicitis within the first 2 years after initiating ICI therapy from January 2010 to April 2021 and who had imaging evidence of appendicitis were studied retrospectively.

RESULTS

13,991 patients were identified who had ICI exposure during the study period, 44 had codes for appendicitis, 10 of whom met the inclusion criteria. Their median age at the time of diagnosis was 59 years. The median time from ICI therapy initiation to appendicitis onset was 188 days. The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain (70%) and fever (40%). Abscesses were present in two patients, and a perforation was present in one. All 10 patients received broad-spectrum antibiotics. Five patients needed surgery or interventional radiology drainage. Nine patients had resolution of appendicitis symptoms after treatment.

CONCLUSION

Post-ICI therapy appendicitis is rare but presents similarly to and has similar complications rates as conventional appendicitis. Appendectomy remains the mainstay of treatment, but its use can be limited in cancer patients. The decision to continue ICI therapy remains at the discretion of the clinician. Further studies are needed to bring awareness to and advance the understanding of this clinical entity.

Concurrent presentation of appendicitis and acute cholecystitis: diagnosis of rare occurrence

A 67-year-old woman presented with a 2-day history of central abdominal pain migrating to the right upper and lower abdomen. On examination she was normothermic but tachycardic. Inflammatory markers were noted to be elevated with a white cell count of 18.5×10(9)/L and C reactive protein of 265 mg/L. A CT scan revealed dual pathology of appendicitis and acute cholecystitis, which was confirmed intraoperatively and histologically.

Negative Appendectomy: an Audit of Resident-Performed Surgery. How Can Its Incidence Be Minimized?

Negative appendectomy remains a concern in current surgical practice. Data from the developing world is scarce. Data of appendectomies during the last 5 years were analyzed. Interval and incidental appendectomies were excluded. The demographic details, presenting complaints, clinical signs, and investigations performed were recorded in a predesigned proforma. The data were critically analyzed. Six hundred eighty-five appendectomies were performed during the period. One hundred eighty-five patients with a normal appendix were identified on histopathology. Sixty-seven patients with incidental or interval appendectomies were excluded. Thus, 118 patients had appendectomies performed erroneously. All these patients with presumed diagnosis of acute appendicitis were operated on by resident surgeons. Records of 17 patients could not be retrieved. The most common symptom was abdominal pain (100 %), and the commonest sign was right iliac fossa tenderness (93 %). Most of the patients underwent USG to supplement the diagnosis. CT scan and diagnostic laparoscopy were not performed. The negative appendectomy rate was 17.2 % (12.4 % in males; 33.3 % in females). The highest incidence of negative appendectomy was in females aged 11-20 years (66.7 %). The rate of negative appendectomy at our institute is comparable with the world statistics. More diligence is required in making the clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis, especially in young females. The use of C-reactive protein and CT scan may decrease the negative appendectomy rate.