Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0085693 (acute appendicitis)
 3,606 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The cases of five children with acute leukemia complicated by appendicitis were reviewed. All but one child had typical signs and symptoms of acute appendicitis, though four children were receiving prednisone. All five children underwent appendectomy, and all survived the immediate postoperative period. One child had a spontaneous remission following appendectomy. Two of three children in relapse suffered serious postoperative complications. Our experience supports the surgical management of appendicitis in acute leukemia.
 ...
PMID:Appendicitis in acute leukemia. 44 58

The treatment of acute leukemia in childhood has been increasingly successful. Infectious complications are the major cause of morbidity and mortality among these patients receiving aggressive chemotherapy. In particular, neutropenic enterocolitis or typhlitis has had a reported mortality of 50% to 100%. The authors reviewed a series of 77 previously untreated patients with acute myelogenous leukemia begun on treatment from March 1976 to June 1984 to better define the characteristics of typhlitis and its optimum management. Twenty-five patients had episodes of typhlitis, characterized by fever, abdominal pain, and tenderness, occurring during periods of neutropenia. Ten of these patients had watery diarrhea as a major additional symptom, and nine patients had a significant episode of gastrointestinal bleeding. In seven instances, blood culture results were positive, all for intestinal flora. The episodes of typhlitis occurred most frequently during the induction therapy (19 patients). Five patients experienced typhlitis during maintenance therapy, and one patient had acute appendicitis. Two patients had typhlitis during their reinduction therapy, and of note, one had had abdominal symptoms during her initial induction. All patients were treated initially with broad-spectrum antibiotics and bowel rest. Four criteria have been used for surgical intervention: (1) persistent gastrointestinal bleeding after resolution of neutropenia and thrombocytopenia and correction of clotting abnormalities; (2) evidence of free intraperitoneal perforation; (3) clinical deterioration requiring support with vasopressors, or large volumes of fluid, suggesting uncontrolled sepsis; and (4) development of symptoms of an intra-abdominal process, in the absence of neutropenia, which would normally require surgery. Using these criteria, five patients required surgical intervention for typhlitis or its sequelae and one for acute appendicitis. There was one perioperative death resulting from miliary tuberculosis. Among the 21 patients managed medically, there was 1 death resulting from typhlitis in a patient in whom surgery was deferred because of her multiple failures to enter remission.
 ...
PMID:The medical and surgical management of typhlitis in children with acute nonlymphocytic (myelogenous) leukemia. 348 59

During the last years the treatment of acute leukemia became more successful thanks to aggressive chemotherapeutic regimen. There are nowadays about 70% long term survivors in the literature. On the other hand, complications and infection rate following such an aggressive treatment increased. We found in our patients an accumulation of acute abdominal complaints, mostly due to an acute appendicitis. Eight patients had to undergo appendectomy. We tried to answer the question whether there is a correlation between complications and the intensity of chemotherapy. The indication for operation was always proven to be correct, and no patient was lost in the postoperative course.
 ...
PMID:[Acute abdomen in leukemias in childhood]. 386 57

The decision to operate for abdominal pain in patients with leukopenia can be exceedingly difficult. Surgical exploration may be the only effective way to differentiate acute appendicitis from other causes, but it involves considerable risk of infectious complications due to immunosuppression. Leukemic patients, who presented significant RLQ pain, had been indicated for operation, despite having advanced disease or having had received chemotherapy or steroids. Four adult leukemia patients, complicated by acute appendicitis, were reviewed. Two patients were in induction chemotherapy, one receiving salvage chemotherapy due to relapse and the other was in conservative treatment. Two patients were acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), one had acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and the other had aleukemic leukemia. All patients underwent appendectomy and recovered without complication. Our experience supports the theory that the surgical management of appendicitis in acute leukemia is the most effective way, in spite of leukopenia.
 ...
PMID:Acute appendicitis in patients with acute leukemia. 826 46

We report here on the clinical courses of three cases of acute appendicitis during a period of myelosuppression after chemotherapy for acute leukemia. The patients were two boys and one girl with a mean age 11 years (range, 10-12). Two of the patients had acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in subtypes M1 and M2, while the third had acute lymphoblostic leukemia of subtype L1 (FAB classification). All patients had clinical features of fever, abdominal pain, and elevations of C-reactive protein. However, the typical peritoneal signs were blunted and developed transiently in two cases. All patients were diagnosed as having appendicitis with abdominal computed tomography scan (CT), and proceeded to appendectomy. With perioperative support utilizing antibiotics, antifungal agents, blood components, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, surgical intervention was successfully performed, and all patients were able to undergo chemotherapy courses shortly after surgery. Histological examinations of the appendectomy specimens showed infiltration of most of the lymphoid cells and a few neutrophils in the wall of the appendix. Enhanced CT was useful in diagnosing appendicitis, which needs to be considered in cases presenting with clinical symptoms such as described here. Because of a high mortality rate after appendix perforation, immediate surgical intervention with sufficient perioperative support should be performed.
 ...
PMID:[Acute appendicitis during bone marrow suppression following chemotherapy for acute leukemia; report of three cases]. 1744 80

Neutropenic enterocolitis (NE) and acute appendicitis are life-threatening conditions that develop in children with severe or prolonged neutropenia secondary to acute leukemia and lymphoma. The medical records of 118 patients who were treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (69 patients), acute myelogenous leukemia (22 patients), or aplastic anemia (27 patients) between 1997 and 2006 in our hospital pediatric hematology department were examined retrospectively. NE was diagnosed in 11 patients (age range, 2.5-16 years) on the basis of clinical and laboratory features. Two of these 11 patients had appendicitis in addition to NE. Conservative treatment was favored for all patients, but 1 patient with acute appendicitis underwent surgery. Neutropenic patients with a hematologic malignancy and abdominal pain should receive their diagnoses immediately and undergo treatment. NE and acute appendicitis should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain. Conservative treatment must be chosen initially for patients with NE, and these patients should be evaluated carefully for surgery. The criteria for the surgical process are the same as those for immunocompetent children. In addition, the close monitoring of hematologic factors is necessary.
 ...
PMID:Neutropenic enterocolitis in children with acute leukemia or aplastic anemia. 1805 46

The management of acute appendicitis in the febrile neutropenic patient after intensive chemotherapy is controversial. We report our single-center-experience of 5 children diagnosed with appendicitis during febrile neutropenia after chemotherapy for acute leukemia or lymphoma. All patients presented with an isolated appendicitis without signs of overt mucositis or more diffuse enterocolitis. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by ultrasonography. Perforation with retrocecal abscess was present in 1 patient. Administration of combination antimicrobial regimens including meropenem resulted in complete resolution in all patients. Our observations indicate that acute appendicitis in clinically stable neutropenic cancer patients can be managed conservatively without surgery.
 ...
PMID:Conservative management of acute appendicitis in children with hematologic malignancies during chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. 1852 66

Acute appendicitis in children with acute leukemia is uncommon and often recognized late. Immunocompromised host state coupled with the importance of avoiding treatment delays makes management additionally challenging. Leukemic infiltration of the appendix though rare must also be considered. Although successful conservative management has been reported, surgical intervention is required in most cases. We present our experience with acute appendicitis in children with acute leukemia and a case of complete remission of acute myeloid leukemia with a short course of decitabine. Decitabine may serve as bridging therapy in critically ill patients who are unable to undergo intensive chemotherapy.
...
PMID:Acute appendicitis in acute leukemia and the potential role of decitabine in the critically ill patient. 2587 Jul 88