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Query: UMLS:C0085693 (acute appendicitis)
 3,606 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

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.
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PMID:[Acute appendicitis during bone marrow suppression following chemotherapy for acute leukemia; report of three cases]. 1744 80

When acute appendicitis occurs in patients treated with chemotherapy, neutropenia and abdominal complaints caused by chemotherapy can contribute to the diagnostic difficulty, masking the increase in white blood cell(WBC)counts and physical findings of acute appendicitis. A 43-year-old premenopausal woman who was diagnosed with stage IIIA left breast cancer was scheduled for neoadjuvant chemotherapy includingfluorouracil plus epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide(FEC), followed by docetaxel and trastuzumab(DOC plus HER). The patient developed fever and lower abdominal pain on day 17 of DOC plus HER cycle 1, and was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis in the emergency room. These symptoms were almost improved 4 days later, and then cycle 2 was performed as scheduled. WBC counts decreased to 1,530 cells/mL due to DOCinduced myelosuppression on day 8 of cycle 2 when the patient developed lower abdominal pain again. However, WBC counts increased to 21,680 cells/mL on day 13 of cycle 2. Computed tomography scans revealed an intraperitoneal abscess due to acute appendicitis, and consequently urgent operation was performed. It is necessary to understand that patients with acute appendicitis duringchemotherapy can present less clinical findings.
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PMID:[A Case of Retroperitoneal Abscess Due to Acute Appendicitis during Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer]. 2913 82