Traumatic appendicitis: Is it a fairy tale? A literature review

Abstract

Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical condition in patients presenting to emergency departments worldwide. It was only in the early 1930s that the relationship between blunt trauma and acute appendicitis was reported. Searches on the terms “traumatic appendicitis” and “appendicitis post blunt trauma” in PubMed, Google, and Medline yielded 23 full-text articles about traumatic appendicitis. The articles reported on acute post-traumatic appendicitis. Nevertheless, the relationship between acute appendicitis and trauma is still controversial. A few theories have attempted to explain the relationship; however, a definitive cause has not yet been identified. A patient presenting with right iliac fossa or diffuse abdominal pain after a traumatic event should be investigated, and acute appendicitis should be included in a differential diagnosis.