TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Acute Appendicitis A1 - DeKoning, E. Paul A2 - Tintinalli, Judith E. A2 - Stapczynski, J. Stephan A2 - Ma, O. John A2 - Yealy, Donald M. A2 - Meckler, Garth D. A2 - Cline, David M. PY - 2016 T2 - Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 8e AB - Between 250,000 and 300,000 appendectomies for acute appendicitis are performed each year in the United States,1 with an additional 700,000 patients affected in the European community.2 The lifetime risk of acute appendicitis in the United States is an estimated 12% for males and 25% for females.3 Yet, the epidemiology of this common ED diagnosis continues to change. Data suggest a reversal of a previous decline in incidence, with the annual rate increasing from 7.62 to 9.38 per 10,000 between 1993 and 2008,4 whereas the rate of negative appendectomy has declined.5 Similarly, between 2001 and 2008 the rate of perforation decreased, but this declining trend has not been consistent.4,6 Acute appendicitis is most common in patients aged 10 to 19 years,4 remains the most frequent cause of atraumatic abdominal pain in children >1 year old,7 and is the most common nonobstetric surgical emergency in pregnancy, complicating up to 1 in 1500 pregnancies.8,9 Despite advances in lab testing and imaging, accurate diagnosis is a challenge. Both "missed appendicitis" and unnecessary surgery for a false diagnosis are not without consequence. Thus, consider appendicitis in any patient with acute atraumatic abdominal pain without prior appendectomy. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1121505880 ER -