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Appendicitis
Appendicitis occurs when the appendix—a finger-shaped organ connected to the end of the large intestine—becomes infected. Symptoms of appendicitis include abdominal pain, often starting near the belly button. The pain may move down to the lower right side of the abdomen. Appendicitis is the leading cause of emergency abdominal surgery (appendix surgery is called an appendectomy) and is most likely to strike people between the ages of 10 and 30—although it can occur at any age.
Appendicitis News
Surgery May Beat Antibiotics for Appendicitis, Study Finds
By Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) — Although some researchers believe antibiotics can often cure appendicitis, surgery remains the more effective treatment, French investigators suggest. Uncomplicated appendicitis may be treated with antibiotics alone, but complicated appendicitis, where the appendix is perforated, requires surgery, and it is difficult to discern between the two, the researchers [...]
Delayed Appendicitis Surgery Not Linked to Worse Outcomes
TUESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) — A delay of 12 or more hours before removing the appendix of patients with acute appendicitis does not lead to poorer outcomes, a new study shows. U.S. researchers analyzed national data from 32,782 patients with acute appendicitis who underwent an appendectomy between 2005 and 2008. Of those patients, 75.2 percent [...]
Air Pollution May Cause Appendicitis: Study
Air pollution is already linked to respiratory and cardiovascular ills, and now researchers say the dirty air you breathe may also cause appendicitis.
Medical Mistakes: What Can Go Wrong
Surgery on wrong patient or site—and other big blunders Procedures done on the wrong body part and to the wrong person are two of the National Quality Forum’s 28 “never events,” mistakes—including surgical materials left in a patient; artificial insemination with the wrong sperm or egg; and harm from malfunctioning equipment, as happened to Kristina Fox—that [...]
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