AIM: To examine the role of coprostasis and coproliths in recurrent appendicitis. METHODS: We evaluated four hundred and twenty seven consecutive pathology reports of all appende- ctomy specimens from January 2003 to December 2004. Findings were categorised as showing acute appen- dicitis, acute recurrent appendicitis, subacute recurrent appendicitis, chronic appendicitis, or appendices without inflammation. All patients had presented with acute right lower quadrant pain. In 94 instances, there was a history of recurrent similar episodes in the past. RESULTS: Of the 427 histology reports, 294 were inter- preted as showing acute appendicitis, 56 acute recurrent appendicitis, 34 subacute recurrent appen-dicitis, 28 chronic appendicitis, and 15 non-inflamed appendices. Coprostasis was observed in 58 patients (13.58%) and the presence of coprolith in 6 (1.4%). Coprostasis, and age, were among the predictors in the final model. CONCLUSION: Coprostasis but not coproliths seems to be a contributing factor to acute exacerbations of chronic inflammatory appendicitis.
展开▼
