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Acute appendicitis

Case contributed by Sameh Saied Ali
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Acute abdomen with right iliac fossa pain of 2 days duration, fever (38 ºC) and single episode of diarrhea.

Patient Data

Age: 25 years
Gender: Male
ultrasound

Thick-walled markedly enlarged appendix with heterogeneous content. Increased wall vascularity on color Doppler examination.

An adjacent small amount of turbid fluid is seen.

Photo

Inflamed appendix with gangrenous areas and focal perforation.

Case Discussion

Acute appendicitis is the commonest cause of acute abdomen. The patient typically presents with shifting abdominal pain, which usually starts around the umbilicus and shifts gradually to the right iliac fossa. The patient may also present with fever and diarrhea.

Typical ultrasound findings are an enlarged appendix (more than 6 mm in its outer maximum diameter), thickened/edematous wall, heterogeneous echogenicity contents, calcified appendicolith, increased wall vascularity, adjacent inflamed omental fat and the presence of free fluid.

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