Detection of Etiological Agents and Histopathological Changes Associated with Appendicitis

Abstract

In this descriptive hospital based study, appendix samples were collected from 74 patients after appendectomy. These were fixed in 10% formal saline and prepared in paraffin blocks. Sections were prepared and stained with four different methods: Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) for general morphology, Gram stain for bacteria, Macchiavello�s stain for viral inclusion bodies and periodic acid- Schiff�s reaction for fungi.The age of patients ranged from 1-47 years (mean age 19.3) years; 81% of the cases occurred in patients below 30 years of age, with male/female ratio of 1.5:1.0. Histopathologically, 48(64.8%) of the cases were diagnosed as acute appendicitis, 9(12.1%) as chronic appendicitis while 17(22.9%) of cases showed no detectable pathology. Intranuclear inclusions (suggesting viral infection) were seen in 17 (23%) of cases; 10 (13.5%) of cases showed presence of bacteria, one case (1.3%) had parasites (Ascaris Lumbericoides), and none had fungal infection. In conclusion the study indicated that acute appendicitis was more frequently encountered than chronic appendicitis and that bacterial and viral infections may be associated with appendicitis, especially the acute form. The age group 11-20 years was the most frequently. No relation was found between chili and lemon consumption and family history of appendicitis.