4. A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
First described by Reginald Fitz in 1886 who
also was the first to advocate appendicectomy
as the cure
In 1889 Charles McBurney described the
clinical findings of acute appendicitis including
the point of maximum tenderness in RIF which
bears his name
5. EPIDEMIOLOGY
Incidence:
The incidence is higher in developed countries and in
developing countries which are adopting a more refined
western type diet
Incidence of appendicitis is lower in cultures with a higher
intake of dietary fiber
6. EPIDEMIOLOGY [cont’d]
Mortality/Morbidity:
The overall mortality rate of 0.2-0.8% is attributable to
complications of the disease rather than to surgical intervention
Mortality rate rises above 20% in patients older than 70 years,
primarily because of diagnostic and therapeutic delay
Perforation rate is higher among patients younger than 18 years
and patients older than 50 years, possibly because of delays in
diagnosis
Appendiceal perforation is associated with an increase in
morbidity and mortality rates
7. EPIDEMIOLOGY [cont’d]
Sex:
The incidence of appendicitis is approximately 1.4 times
greater in men than in women
The incidence of primary appendectomy is approximately
equal in both sexes
8. EPIDEMIOLOGY [cont’d]
Age:
Appendicitis may occur at all ages, but is most commonly
seen in the 2nd
and 3rd
decades of life
The incidence of appendicitis gradually rises from birth,
peaks in the late teen years, and gradually declines in the
geriatric years
Although rare, neonatal and even prenatal appendicitis
have been reported in literature
The emergency physician must maintain a high index of
suspicion in all age groups
9. AETIOLOGY
Etiological factors for appendicitis include:-
Appendiceal luminal obstruction
Diet
Social status
Familial susceptibility
10. Appendiceal luminal obstruction
Luminal causes
Feacolith
Lymphoid follicle hyperplasia
Worms e.g. ascaris
Foreign body
In the wall
Stricture
Neoplasms
Outside the wall
Adhesions
kinks
11. Diet
Low intake of dietary fiber is associated with
increased incidence of appendicitis
Dietary fiber is thought to decrease the viscosity of
feces, decrease bowel transit time, and discourage
formation of fecaliths that predispose individuals to
obstructions of the appendiceal lumen
12. Familial tendency
Appendicitis tends to run in certain families
may be due to peculiar position of the organ
which predisposes to infection
17. Obstructive appendicitis
Luminal obstruction and mucus production result in
increased intraluminal pressure
Bacteria trapped within the appendiceal lumen begin to
multiply, and the appendix becomes distended
Luminal distention stimulates visceral nerve endings
concerned with pain [visceral pain]
This produce dull aching pain felt periumbilically
according to nerve supply of the appendix (T10)
referred pain
Venous congestion and edema follow next, and by 12 hours
after onset, the inflammatory process may become
transmural
18. Obstructive appendicitis[ cont]
Peritoneal irritation then develops
If the obstruction is left untreated, arterial blood
flow to the appendix is compromised, and this
leads to tissue ischemia and necrosis
This stimulates parietal nerve endings→ shift of
pain to the RIF
Full thickness necrosis of the appendiceal wall
leads to perforation with the release of fecal and
suppurative contents into the peritoneal cavity
19. Obstructive appendicitis [cont]
Depending on the duration of the disease process,
either a localized walled-off abscess or mass occurs,
or if the pathologic process has advanced rapidly, the
perforation is free in the peritoneal cavity and
generalized peritonitis occurs
The commonest bacterial growth from inflamed
appendices include Escherichia coli, Kleblesiella
spp., Proteus spp and Bacteroids
20. Non-obstructive appendicitis
This is less dangerous type
Inflammation commences in the mucous membrane or in the
lymphoid follicles and gradually spread to the submucosa
As there is no obstruction there is not much distension, but
when the serosa is involved localizing peritonitis develops
and the patient c/o RIF pain
Such inflammation terminates either by:-
Suppuration
Gangrene
Fibrosis
Resolution
Many of the sub-acute appendicitis, recurrent appendicitis
and chronic appendicitis develop from this variety
21. CLINICAL PRESENTATION
History: classic symptoms include:-
Periumbilical pain [visceral pain] which shifts and
localize to the RIF [parietal or somatic pain]
Periumbilical pain is colicky in nature in obstructive type
and is dull aching and constant in non-obstructive type
RIF pain is sharp intense and well localized to the RIF
Anorexia
Nausea & Vomiting
22. CLINICAL PRESENTATION [cont’d]
Physical examination
Pyrexia
RIF tenderness
Muscle guarding
Rebound tenderness
Special test to elicit in appendicitis
Pointing sign
Rovsing’s sign [RIF pain with palpation of the LIF ]
Psoas sign [RIF tenderness with internal rotation of the flexed
right hip]
Obtrurator sign [RLQ pain with hyperextension of the right hip ]
29. WORK UP
Lab investigations
Complete blood cell count
Leucocytosis
Neutrophilia greater than 75%
C-reactive protein test
Urinalysis
30. WORK UP [cont’d]
Imaging investigations
Abdominal radiography
The kidneys-ureters-bladder (KUB) view is typically used
Visualization of an appendicolith in a patient with symptoms
consistent with appendicitis is highly suggestive of appendicitis,
but this occurs in fewer than 10% of cases
The consensus in the literature is that plain radiographs are
insensitive, nonspecific, and is not cost-effective
•
31. WORK UP [cont’d]
Abdominal Ultrasonography
An outer diameter of greater than 6 mm,
noncompressibility, lack of peristalsis, or
periappendiceal fluid collection characterizes an
inflamed appendix
The normal appendix is not visualized
It’s noninvasive, short acquisition time, lack of
radiation exposure, and potential for diagnosis of
other causes of abdominal pain, particularly in the
subset of women of childbearing age
However it is operator dependent
32. WORK UP [cont’d]
Computed tomography
Abdominal CT has become the most important imaging study in the
evaluation of patients with atypical presentations of appendicitis
Advantages of CT scanning include
Sensitivity and accuracy compared with those of other imaging
techniques
Readily available
Noninvasive
potential to reveal alternative diagnoses
Disadvantages
lengthy acquisition time if oral contrast is used
patient discomfort if rectal contrast is used
Exposure to radiation
It is really required to make diagnosis of acute appendicitis
33. DIAGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM
Various scoring systems have been devised to aid diagnosis
of appendicitis
Although many diagnostic scores have been advocated,
most are complex and difficult to implement in the clinical
situation
The Alvarado score, is a simple scoring system that can be
instituted easily
The Classic Alvarado score [1986] is based on three
symptoms, three signs and two laboratory findings and has
a total score of 10
35. Diagnostic Scoring System [cont]
Kalan et al [1994] omitted one lab parameter [left
shift of neutrophil maturation] which is not
routinely available in many laboratories, and
produced a modified score which have only one
lab findings
A modified Alvarado score [1994] is based on three
symptoms, three signs and one laboratory findings
[total score of 9]
MAS is commonly used
37. MASS- interpretation
A score of 1-4:[ discharging group] The diagnosis
of acute appendicitis is unlikely
A score of 5-6: [observing group] Probable to have
appendicitis but not convincing to have urgent
appendicectomy
A score of 7-9: [emergency group] Regarded as
probable to have acute appendicitis and needs
emergency appendicectomy
38. TREATMENT
The treatment of appendicitis is appendicectomy
Appendicectomy can be elective, emergency or
interval
Two types of appendicectomy:-
Conventional open appendicectomy
Laparoscopic appendicectomy
39. Preoperative care
Iv fluid
Analgesics
Preoperative antibiotics with broad spectrum
antibiotics
Check Hb, blood grouping and crossmatching
Shaving
Written informed consent
Pre-anaesthetic visit
40. Intraoperative care
Open appendicectomy
Incisions
Grid-iron sss
Rurtherford Morrison’s
Lanz’s [transverse skin crease]
SUMI when the diagnosis is not clear
Rt lower paramedian
Midline incision
41. Intraoperative care cont’d
Appendiceal locations of the tip
Retrocaecal appendix [70%]
Pelvic appendix [25%]- the tip hangs in the pelvic brim
Subcaecal appendix [2%]
Splenic appendix [1%]- either pre- or post-ileal i.e anterior or
posterior to the terminal ileum
Paracaecal appendix [1%]
Paracolic appendix [1%]-either to the right or left of ascending
colon, the tip in the extraperitoneal tissue
Location of the base-is constant, being found at
confluence of 3 taeniae coli of the caecum which fuse to
form the outer longitudinal muscle coat of the appendix
42. Post operative care
Iv fluids
Analgesics
Antibiotics
Monitor-
Vital signs
Discharge home in 2-3 days postoperatively
46. a.Appendicular mass
Use conservative Ochsner-Sherren regime
Iv fluid
NGT
Analgesics
Antibiotics –parenteral
Mark the limits of the mass on the abdominal wall
using a skin pencil
Monitor- vital sign, size of the mass, input/output chart
Clinical improvement is expected in 24-48 hours
47. Appendicular mass [cont]
Criteria for stoping OSR
Increased pulse rate
Increasing or spreading abdominal pain
Increasing the size of the mass
Vomiting or increasing gastric contents