Beyond the commonest: right lower quadrant abdominal pain is not always appendicitis

Abstract

Background: Despite acute appendicitis is the most common underlying etiology of the acute abdomen, a considerable list of other pathologies should be considered; despite sharing almost the same clinical presentation. This study aimed to re-enhance the importance and sensitivity of CT scan as a solitary imaging tool, in the evaluation of patients with acute right lower abdominal pain.

Patients and methods: It is a retrospective study of the last 1000 patients, referred with acute right lower abdominal pain for CT scan examination. Biphasic CT scan abdomen protocol was applied for all.

Results: Cecal carcinoma was detected in three patients (0.3%), epiploic appendicitis in five (0.5%), omental infarct in two (0.2%), appendicular mucocele in two (0.2%), appendicular NET in one (0.1%), cecal diverticulitis in four (0.4%), Chron’s disease in six (0.6%), intussusception in one (0.1%) and FB in one (0.1%) and appendicular perforation in one (0.1%), acute simple appendicitis 398 (39.8%) and 577 (57.7%) were unremarkable.

Conclusion: Despite acute appendicitis is the most common cause of the acute abdomen, many other surgical and non-surgical etiologies should also be considered, with a higher sensitivity of CT as a solitary diagnostic tool of imaging.