Background: Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding is common in clinical practice, and the colon is responsible for the majority of cases. However, appendiceal bleeding is an extremely rare cause. Appendiceal bleeding due to vascular diseases, such as angiodysplasia and Dieulafoy's lesion, may result in massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Appendectomy is a reliable and effective option for treatment.
Case summary: A 32-year-old male presented to our hospital with hematochezia that had lasted for 6 h, with approximately 600-800 mL bloody stools and loss of consciousness for a few seconds. Persistent bleeding from the orifice of the appendix was observed by colonoscopy. Following the new diagnosis of appendiceal bleeding, the patient was treated by an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy. Finally, the patient was pathologically diagnosed with appendiceal Dieulafoy's lesion. The patient was uneventfully discharged, and follow-up 2 wk later showed no evidence of rebleeding.
Conclusion: Although appendiceal bleeding is a rare cause of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding, clinicians should consider it during differential diagnosis.
Keywords: Appendix; Case report; Gastrointestinal hematochezia; Lower gastrointestinal tract; Vascular malformations.
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