title: Acute appendicitis presenting as unusual left upper quadrant pain.
abstract: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal disease that requires surgery in the emergency ward. It usually presents as right lower quadrant pain, but may rarely present as left upper quadrant (LUQ) pain due to congenital anatomical abnormalities of the intestine. We report a patient who complained of persistent LUQ abdominal pain and was finally diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) as congenital intestinal malrotation complicated with acute appendicitis. It is important to include acute appendicitis in the differential diagnosis of patients who complain of LUQ abdominal pain. Abdominal CT can provide significant information that is useful in preoperative diagnosis and determination of proper treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Taichung General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsung-Ju
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Armed Forces Taichung General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Armed Forces Taichung General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin-Yuan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Armed Forces Taichung General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Hsiu
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Taichung General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shou-Cheng
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Taichung General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chuan-Chou
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tu
keywords: Abdomen, Acute; Abdominal Pain; Appendicitis; Intestinal Malrotation, Familial