appendiceal_faecoliths
Table of Contents
appendiceal faecoliths
Introduction
- appendicitis is mainly a disease of Western societies with lower fibre diets which result in harder, drier stools and is rare in traditionally living Africans and Indians.
- if the feacolith remains present for a long time it may become calcified and be evident on AXR or CT scan
- fecoliths in the appendix appear to be associated with development of appendicitis and if it does occur, increased risk of perforation at an earlier phase of the process
- this is particularly true for paediatric population:
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- 388 children undergoing appendectomy
- 31% had fecolith
- perforation rates were 57% with fecolith and 36% without fecolith
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RIF pain and appendiceal faecoliths on imaging
- this raises the probability of appendicitis as a cause of the pain, and if it is present then these cases are more likely to perforate before surgery
Incidental finding of appendiceal faecoliths with no RIF pain
- many surgeons would consider elective surgery for appendectomy although the incidence of subsequent appendicitis without surgery does not seem high
- the prevalence of incidental appendiceal faecoliths in adults undergoing abdominal surgery appears to be higher in Canada (32% - 37% if no 3 day preop-op bowel prep vs 17% with 3 day bowel prep) than in South Africa (4%) and this is presumed to be due to high fibre diets in Sth Africa being protective. Appendiceal faecoliths were found in 52% of patients with appendicitis in Canada and in 23% of appendicitis patients in Africa. 3)
appendiceal_faecoliths.txt · Last modified: 2019/01/22 05:40 by 127.0.0.1