Perforated appendicitis after colonoscopy: cause or coincidence?: A rare case report and literature review.

Medicine (Baltimore)

aDepartment of Surgery bDepartment of Gastroenterology cDepartment of Pathology, The Dingli Clinical Institute of Wenzhou Medical University (Wenzhou Central Hospital), Wenzhou, Zhejiang dDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, Changhai Hospital, Shanghai, P.R. China.

Published: November 2017

Rationale: Colonoscopy is a relatively safe and common procedure with low risks of complications, and acute appendicitis with perforation is an extremely rare complication of colonoscopy. The current study presents an unusual case of acute gangrenous appendicitis with perforation following a screening colonoscopy.

Patient Concerns: A 73-year-old man presented to our emergency department with lower right abdominal pain 3 days after a routine screening colonoscopy. On physical examination the patient had signs of generalized peritonitis. Abdominal and pelvic computed tomography (CT) revealed the presence of multiple free gas in the right subphrenic space and abdominal cavity with exudate effusions in both sides of the paracolic sulci and the pelvic cavity, especially around the ascending colon and caecum. The CT scan also showed a dilated and inflamed appendix with fecaliths.

Diagnoses: The patient was diagnosed with acute gangrenous appendicitis with perforation after colonoscopy.

Interventions: The patient underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy. Intraoperative findings revealed an inflamed gangrenous appendix with focal perforation and impacted fecaliths. The colon showed no evidence of perforation or other areas of concern and thus, a conclusive diagnosis was achieved. An appendectomy was performed and the abdominal cavity was rinsed and drained thoroughly.

Outcomes: The postoperative course was uneventful.

Lessons: This study may increase clinical awareness with regard to perforated appendicitis after colonoscopy. Acute appendicitis should be included in the differential diagnosis of lower right abdominal pain following a colonoscopy, in addition to possible colonic injury. Furthermore, emergency surgery should be recommended for the typical signs of perforation with peritonitis and free pneumoperitoneum. Early recognition and prompt surgical treatment are critical, which can avoid severe outcomes and improve the prognosis.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5704870PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000008747DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

appendicitis perforation
12
perforated appendicitis
8
appendicitis colonoscopy
8
acute appendicitis
8
acute gangrenous
8
gangrenous appendicitis
8
lower abdominal
8
abdominal pain
8
abdominal cavity
8
colonoscopy
6

Similar Publications

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of patients presenting to the emergency room with acute appendicitis and subsequent results of surgical treatment. Our single center retrospective study was conducted in Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia. We analyzed data on the patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis, their duration of symptoms, length of hospital stay, histopathologic diagnosis, and operative techniques, recorded from September 1, 2019 to October 17, 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Machine-learning-assisted Preoperative Prediction of Pediatric Appendicitis Severity.

J Pediatr Surg

January 2025

McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Canada; Harvey E. Beardmore Division of Pediatric Surgery, The Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Qc, Canada.

Purpose: This study evaluates the effectiveness of machine learning (ML) algorithms for improving the preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children, focusing on the accurate prediction of the severity of disease.

Methods: An anonymized clinical and operative dataset was retrieved from the medical records of children undergoing emergency appendectomy between 2014 and 2021. We developed an ML pipeline that pre-processed the dataset and developed algorithms to predict 5 appendicitis grades (1 - non-perforated, 2 - localized perforation, 3 - abscess, 4 - generalized peritonitis, and 5 - generalized peritonitis with abscess).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ultrasound is a first-line and often preferred imaging modality in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. When the appendix is not visualised during a dedicated appendix ultrasound study, patients may require a CT study, which uses ionising radiation, or undergo conservative clinical observation with the inherent risk of clinical deterioration, perforation and sepsis. Median baseline data, at our hospital imaging department, revealed a rate of combined normal and abnormal appendix visualisation of 34.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Enteroenteric fistula in the pediatric age group is an unusual presentation. It can create a diagnostic dilemma for the physician, particularly in the absence of any previous surgery, prolonged abdominal symptoms, or inflammatory bowel disease. The patient is a 10-year-old girl who presented with mild-grade fever, abdominal distension, scanty stool passage, and foul-smelling vomiting for the past 10 days.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Comparison of Postoperative Antibiotic Protocols for Pediatric Complicated Appendicitis: A Western Pediatric Surgery Research Consortium Study.

J Pediatr Surg

January 2025

Division of Pediatric Surgery, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA; Division of Pediatric Surgery, Dept of General Surgery, UCSD School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA. Electronic address:

Background: There is no consensus on the appropriate duration of postoperative antibiotics for complicated appendicitis in children. Commonly used antibiotic endpoints include normalization of white blood cell count (WBC) or completion of a minimum number of prespecified treatment days. We compared clinical outcomes resulting from varying postoperative antibiotic protocols for complicated appendicitis in children.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!