Histopathological study of appendectomy specimens: A two-year retrospective analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Appendectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures carried out in general surgery department and it is the most common cause acute abdomen in young adults. Routine histopathological (HP) examination of all resected appendix usually carried out in the Pathology department. Aims and Objective: To find out the HP diagnosis of appendectomy specimens and to find out whether it correlates with preoperative clinical diagnosis. Materials and Methods: We carried out retrospective analysis of all appendectomy specimens from January 2019 to December 2020. Total 121 cases were included in our study. Slides were reviewed, clinical data and HP diagnosis were retrieved from records of Pathology department. Data were compiled and analysed. Results: Out of 121 cases, male constitute majority of cases (56.2%). Most of the patients had clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis (70%) cases, and the most common HP diagnosis is also acute appendicitis (51.24%), followed by chronic/recurrent appendicitis (26.45%). Rare diagnosis of tuberculosis, carcinoid tumor, enterobious infestation and acute appendicitis due to taenia eggs also found (0.83% each). Conclusion: Clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis is not always correct; so routine HP examination of all appendectomy specimens should be done to arrive at exact diagnosis. HP examination also detects rare appendicular pathologies, which is essential for proper management.