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Question answered:29/10/07 Warning! this question is over two years old.
We found a number of references to chronic appendicitis, although nothing robust on possible management. A 1999 case report in Postgraduate Medicine Online [1] concludes:
“Although recurrent appendicitis is uncommon, data confirm that it does occur. The condition should be suspected in patients with a history of severe right lower quadrant pain that recurs frequently and resolves spontaneously. If careful history taking, physical examination, and the use of modern radiographic methods implicate the appendix as the culprit, surgery can be curative.”
eMedicine, an American online textbook discusses chronic appendicitis in their chapter on appendicitis [2], reporting:
“Chronic appendicitis: Chronic appendicitis occurs with an incidence of 1% and is defined by the following: (1) the patient has a history of RLQ pain of at least 3 weeks’ duration without an alternative diagnosis; (2) after appendectomy, the patient experiences complete relief of symptoms; (3) histopathologically, the symptoms were proven to be the result of chronic active inflammation of the appendiceal wall or fibrosis of the appendix.”
We found numerous other mentions, including:
Chronic appendicitis: does it exist? Journal of Family Practice (1998) [3]
Chronic and recurrent appendicitis are uncommon entities often misdiagnosed. J Am Coll Surg (1994) [4]
Chronic appendicitis as an independent clinical entity. Chirurg (2002) [5]
References
1) http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/1999/07_99/babb.htm
2) http://www.emedicine.com/radio/topic47.htm
3) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_n6_v46/ai_20842646
4) http://pmid.us/8149038
5) http://pmid.us/12242981
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