title: A cluster of true appendicitis cases.
abstract: A cluster of cases of appendicitis occurred primarily in school-age boys in a small Texas town. The expected rate of appendicitis is 1.5 cases per 1,000 persons, or about 1 case per month in that town. However, in the spring of 1984, 13 cases, 10 in school-age boys, occurred. In eight of these patients, the initial onset of abdominal pain occurred over a 15 day period. A case controlled study of school-age patients indicated that sweets in the diet and consumption of local farm eggs may have been associated with the appendicitis. We hypothesize that a group of young male patients who were susceptible to appendicitis because of the high sugar content of their diets were exposed to a bacterium or virus that precipitated this outbreak of appendicitis.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004531:Eggs / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012621:Seasons; D013029:Space-Time Clustering; D013781:Texas
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004043:Dietary Fiber