According to a new study

Jan 19, 2010 20:01 GMT  ·  By

Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern) argue in a new scientific paper that appendicitis may in fact be caused by a viral infection of some sort. The condition refers to the inflammation of the appendix, a protuberance in the gut that is believed to be holding a safety cache of bacteria to repopulate the intestines if the need arises. Common knowledge has it that inflammation in the appendix needs to be treated immediately via surgery and removal, but the new study questions whether this is truly the case.

“Just as the traditional appendix scar across the abdomen is fast becoming history, thanks to new single-incision surgery techniques that hide a tiny scar in the bellybutton, so too may the conventional wisdom that patients with appendicitis need to be operated on as soon as they enter the hospital. Patients still need to be seen quickly by a physician, but emergency surgery is now in question,” the UT Southwestern chief of GI/endocrine surgery, Dr. Edward Livingston, explains. He is also the senior author of the new report, which appears in the January issue of the journal Archives of Surgery.

According to official statistics, about 280,000 appendectomies are being performed every year, which means that the condition makes up the bulk of emergency general surgeries across the United States. After the appendix was first identified in 1886, doctors started extracting it at the first sign of trouble because the operation was relatively simple and uncomplicated. In addition, a burst appendix causes a lot more problems, and such an incident is generally considered to be an emergency. Therefore, throughout the 20th century, this became a standard medical practice.

What Dr. Livingston is suggesting is that non-perforated appendicitis may resolve without surgery. He and his team base their statement on cases of sailors or other people with no immediate access to doctors, and on children. In some children hospitals, removing the appendix when the first troubles appear is not treated as an emergency, and surgery is generally avoided. In their investigations of hospital admission records, the researchers noticed a strong hint to the idea that appendicitis might be caused by a viral agent, such as the flu virus that caused influenza.

“The peaks and valleys of appendicitis cases generally matched up over time, suggesting it is possible that these disorders share common etiologic determinates, pathogenetic mechanisms or environmental factors that similarly affect their incidence. Though appendicitis is fairly common, it still remains a frustrating medical mystery. While we know surgical removal is an effective treatment, we still don't know the purpose of the appendix, nor what causes it to become obstructed,” Livingston concludes.