Appendiceal wall thickening at CT in asymptomatic patients with extraintestinal malignancy may mimic appendicitis.
The purpose of this study was to describe the CT appearance and determine the prevalence of thick-walled appendices in patients with an extraintestinal primary malignancy. This potential mimic of appendicitis may occur in up to 2% of cancer patients. Awareness of this pitfall is important to avoid unnecessary laparotomy in this patient population.
Department of Radiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628, USA. emma.webb@radiology.ucsf.edu
Emily M
EM
Webb
Bonnie N
BN
Joe
Fergus V
FV
Coakley
Aliya
A
Qayyum
Antonio C
AC
Westphalen
Benjamin M
BM
Yeh
D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001065:Appendix / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography