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Evidence suggests that, in a patient with acute appendicitis, presence of an appendicolith is associated with worse outcomes (e.g., abscess, perforation). In this single-center retrospective study, Wisconsin researchers determined the prevalence of appendicolith among 496 adults who underwent computed tomography (CT) for suspected appendicitis. Half of the evaluated patients (mean age, 35) had surgically proven appendicitis, and the rest (mean age, 38) did not have appendicitis (controls).
Appendicoliths identified by CT imaging were significantly more prevalent in participants with appendicitis than in controls (39% vs. 4%). Among appendicitis patients with appendicoliths, one third had multiple appendicoliths, and three quarters had “obstr…