Background/purpose: To clarify the role of interval appendectomy (IA) in pediatric patients with acute appendicitis with an appendiceal inflammatory mass or abscess, we histologically analyzed the appendices removed during IA.
Patients and methods: We treated 355 consecutive pediatric patients with acute appendicitis and reviewed the admission charts of patients who started conservative management (CM). The histology of the appendix removed during IA was also examined. The relationships among the clinical features, appendicolith formation at the time of IA and histological findings were analyzed by stepwise regression analyses.
Results: (1) CM was started in 48 patients (13.5 %). Recurrence or a remaining abscess was observed in nine patients (18.8 %). (2) Histopathological changes, particularly foreign body reaction with fibrosis and infiltration of inflammatory cells, were observed in about half of the specimens. (3) In a stepwise regression analysis, the presence of an appendicolith at IA was correlated with an appendicolith at diagnosis, foreign body reaction in the appendix and a decrease in the inflammatory reaction at diagnosis.
Conclusion: More than half the patients had strong histopathological changes in the appendix, suggesting a high possibility of recurrence. The presence of appendicolith formation at IA, which is a risk factor for recurrence, was influenced by the presence of an appendicolith at diagnosis, foreign body reaction in the appendix and the inflammatory status of patients at diagnosis. These clinical findings are indications for IA.