Loading...
Incidental appendectomies are often performed during abdominal and gynecologic surgeries, with about 1000 of these procedures needed to prevent 13 cases of appendicitis. Appendectomy might reduce the risk for ulcerative colitis (UC) and, in patients who develop UC, result in a more benign clinical course of disease. However, a new study suggests that it might be a risk factor for recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection.
Researchers identified 396 patients with C. difficile infection, of whom 244 had undergone abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans, allowing both historical and radiologic determination of appendectomy. An additional 10 patients without CT had two separate histories, enabling confident determination of prior appendecto…