
|Articles|October 19, 2021
Pharmacy Clinical Pearl of the Day: Appendicitis
Author(s)Saro Arakelians, PharmD
As inflammation worsens, appendicitis pain typically increases and eventually becomes severe.
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Clinical Pearl of the Day: Appendicitis
Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix, a finger-shaped pouch that projects from your colon on the lower right side of your abdomen.
Insight:
- Appendicitis causes pain in your lower right abdomen. In most people, pain begins around the navel and then moves. As inflammation worsens, appendicitis pain typically increases and eventually becomes severe.
- Signs and symptoms include sudden pain in the naval area that worsens with cough, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, constipation or diarrhea, abdominal bloating, and flatulence.
- Appendicitis treatment usually involves surgery to remove the inflamed appendix, which is called an appendectomy.
- Before surgery, the patient may be given a dose of antibiotics to treat infection.
- In general, laparoscopic surgery allows patients to recover faster and heal with less pain and scarring. It may be better for older adults and people with obesity.
- If the appendix has burst and an abscess has formed around it, the abscess may be drained by placing a tube through the skin into the abscess.
Source:
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