Heredity and familial tendency of acute appendicitis.
BACKGROUND
Although inflammatory disease of the vermiform appendix has been recognized as such for more than 100 years, its etiology remains a subject of controversy. The notion that appendicitis is familial, is not only important for understanding the etiology of the condition but might contribute substantially to the diagnosis and thus provide an indication for early surgical intervention.


METHODS
An extensive Medline search, textbooks, scientific reports and scientific journals are the data sources.


CONCLUSIONS
In the light of past studies, we can suggest that almost half of the variability in risk of acute appendicitis is due to genetic factors. A positive family history increases the relative risk of being acute appendicitis nearly 3 times.
Ergul
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Ankara Ataturk Teaching and Research Hospital, General Surgery Department, Ankara, Turkey. dreergul@gmail.com
D000208:Acute Disease; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000235:genetics*; D005190:Family; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D012307:Risk Factors