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REVIEW ARTICLE
Year : 2013  |  Volume : 3  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 6-10

Acute appendicitis in pregnancy


Department of Surgery, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
Stephen E Garba
Department of Surgery, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Nigeria
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/2278-9596.117120

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Background: Frequently, a general surgeon is called upon to consider the diagnosis of appendicitis in a girl or woman who is pregnant or has recently delivered. The burden of clinical decision-making and execution of treatment would rest on the general surgeon, with other specialists playing peripheral, but important supportive roles. This condition is relatively rare in pregnancy. A delay in operative intervention is often incurred in view of the risk of general anesthesia and operation on the fate of the pregnancy. Promptly diagnosed in a patient who sought medical assistance early in the evolution of the disease, acute appendicitis in pregnancy (AAP) should not pose an operative challenge to the contemporary surgeon or risk to the woman and her unborn child. It is the aim of this review to appraise AAP in the light of contemporary evidence based medicine and to demystify it with a view to encouraging general surgeons to boldly confront a potentially lethal disease and not to add to the patient's suffering by hiding behind unnecessary laboratory and imaging investigations. Materials and Methods: Many search engines are used such as MedLine, PubMed and Google scholar to search out discussions related to AAP. All the acquired information was processed to arrive at the conclusions drawn here in this essay. Results: AAP can be promptly diagnosed and treated with high index of suspicion. Awareness of this condition in pregnant patients must be high. The condition if diagnosed early and treated promptly can have a good outcome. Conclusion: Acute appendicitis is a relatively rare condition in pregnancy; surgeons must have a high index of suspicion as early diagnosis and treatment are important factors in a safe outcome of this condition.


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