Mansour Aljaradi, Abdlkhalik Sallam, Nasim Saqran, Angela Borda, Myriam Decaussin Petrucci, Christian Paulin, Nicole Burger.
Is appendiceal pathology important? morphological study of 745 appendectomies: Sana Yemen.
Pak J Pathol Jan ;17(3):105-8.

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is the most frequent cause of acute abdominal pain in Yemen. Its etiology and pathology have great diversity and some times very important in the subsequent treatment of patients. Therefore, all surgically removed appendixes must be submitted to histopathological examination. Methods: We present a prospective study of 745 appendectomies as performed at Sana`s University and Teaching Hospitals, over a four year period (January 1998 to December 2001). All cases were subjected to morphological, histochemical and immunological (in few cases) examinations in Yemen and abroad. Results: A total of 745 patients were included in this study (with male to female ratio of 1.4: 1). 131 had histological normal appendix giving all negative appendectomy rate of 17.6%. The diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made in 82.4%. Peak age group was 11 to 30 years. Granulomatous appendicitis and appendiceal tumours rates were 2.3% and 0.4% consecutively. Conclusion: All appendectomies must be submitted for histopathological examination, whether or not the specimens are macroscopically normal. The frequency of AA (Acute Appendicitis) was 82.4%, majorities 77%, of patient 11-30 years old. Males belonged to this age group, had more frequency 91.5% of developing AA than females of the same age, in which, high rate of false positive 23.4% was observed. The prevalence of GA (Granulomatus Appendicitis) and AT (Appendiceal Tumours) was 2.3% and 0.4% consecutively. Although, it is a rare condition, its possibilities should be kept in mind by clinicians, as well as the pathologists.

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