Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAcute vs. ChronicSymptomsCausesHow Serious Is It?Diagnosis & TreatmentComplicationsAcute Appendicitis and PregnancyAppendicitis vs. Acute AppendicitisOutlook
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Acute vs. Chronic
Symptoms
Causes
How Serious Is It?
Diagnosis & Treatment
Complications
Acute Appendicitis and Pregnancy
Appendicitis vs. Acute Appendicitis
Outlook
Acute means sudden (i.e., sudden onset of symptoms). The causes of acute appendicitis are said to involve factors causing a blockage. This blockage creates bacteria collection in the appendix, resulting in inflammation, infection, and/or severe pain in your lower right abdomen area. Untreated, acute appendicitis can cause the appendix to burst or rupture, causing bacteria to spill into your bloodstream, which can cause sepsis and even death. For this reason, acute appendicitis should always be treated as a medical emergency.
Read on to learn the difference between acute appendicitis and chronic appendicitis, including symptoms of acute appendicitis to watch for in adults and children, what causes appendicitis, how to get a diagnosis andtreatment for appendicitis, the link between pregnancy and appendicitis, and what to expect in terms of recovery from appendicitis.
What Does the Appendix Do?
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Acute Appendicitis vs. Chronic Appendicitis
Acute appendicitis is the sudden onset of appendicitis. It comes on quickly, progresses to an emergency quickly, and is cause for immediate medical care. Acute appendicitis is cited as the most common abdominal surgical emergency in the world, with an annual incidence of 96.5 to 100 cases per 100,000 adults or 1 in 1,000 adults.
Chronic appendicitissymptoms of abdominal pain are the same but are said to be milder than acute appendicitis. These symptoms can come and go over weeks, months, and years.
Although chronic appendicitis is not seen as an immediate medical emergency, it’s important to see your healthcare provider about abdominal pain as it can lead to acute appendicitis.
Acute Appendicitis Symptoms
The most common symptom of acute appendicitis isabdominal painin the lower right abdomen area where your appendix is located.Symptoms tend to come on quickly and worsen quickly, too.
Symptoms in Adults vs. Children
It was previously thought that classic symptoms of acute appendicitis were less present in cases ofappendicitis in childrenthan in adults and that children generally had a delayed presentation of symptoms compared to adults.
One study examined symptoms in 210 children and 744 adults and found that contrary to traditional teaching, diagnosing acute appendicitis in children and adults is more similar than not.Specifically, researchers didn’t find delayed presentation of symptoms in children.
Common symptoms of acute appendicitis and burst appendix include:
The Stages of Appendicitis
What Causes Acute Appendicitis
Blockage can begin to cut off blood flow to the appendix; without treatment, it can burst or lose all functionality (i.e., die). If acute appendicitis leads to rupture, stool, mucus, and infection can spread to the bloodstream. Risk of a serious infection known as peritonitis increases.
How Common Is Acute Appendicitis?
Specifically in the US, acute appendicitis carries a lifetime risk of 8.6% in males and 6.7% in females.
How Serious Is Acute Appendicitis?
Acute appendicitis is always a serious and immediate medical emergency and should be responded to as such. Someone with acute appendicitis is at risk of their appendix bursting, leading to serious infection, health complications, and even death. With acute appendicitis, the appendix can rupture or tear within as little as 48 to 72 hours after you first experience symptoms.This is why seeking immediate care from your healthcare provider or emergency department is critical.
Diagnosis & Treatment of Acute Appendicitis
The sudden onset of severe abdominal pain (the kind that wakes you from sleep) is a telltale sign to see a healthcare provider for an accurate diagnosis.
Acute appendicitis is diagnosed based on a:
Additionally, your healthcare provider may request the following further diagnostic tests:
Treatment of acute appendicitis typically requires surgically removing the appendix (i.e., anappendectomy). This remains the same whether or not your appendix bursts. The surgeons will remove your appendix anyways to prevent future cases of appendicitis.
The main complication from acute appendicitis is a ruptured orburst appendix. If your appendix bursts, it opens a path for infection to spread.
Other complications include:
Both sepsis and peritonitis are serious medical emergencies that can result in death if not treated promptly.
There is no known way to prevent acute appendicitis or appendix rupture, but getting to the emergency room as soon as you detect symptoms is the best way to help reduce the risk of complications associated with acute appendicitis.
Delayed diagnosis may be behind the high incidence of burst appendixes in the third trimester in this population. If you are pregnant and experiencing abdominal pain, be sure not to assume the symptoms are associated and seek medical attention.
What Is a Pregnant Belly?
What Is the Difference Between Appendicitis and Acute Appendicitis?
The main difference betweenappendicitisand acute appendicitis is the onset time of symptoms.When experiencing any acute form of an illness, the symptoms will come on quickly and intensely. You won’t be able to ignore the pain as a nagging or discomforting sensation; it will be unlike other abdominal pains.
Appendicitis typically refers to chronic appendicitis or appendicitis that is milder but with ongoing and fluctuating symptoms that can progress to acute appendicitis and medical emergencies.
Chronic vs. Acute Conditions: Illness Classifications
The outlook for people with acute appendicitis who seek immediate medical care is excellent. You can live a healthy life without your appendix. If your appendix bursts, though, recovering from acute appendicitis will take a little longer, and treating for potential infection with antibiotics may be necessary.
Abdominal Pain: What You Should Know
Summary
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Appendicitis.Moris D, Paulson EK, Pappas TN.Diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in adults: a review.JAMA.2021;326(22):2299–2311. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.20502Kothadia JP, Katz S, Ginzburg L.Chronic appendicitis: uncommon cause of chronic abdominal pain.Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. 2015;8(3):160-162. doi:10.1177/1756283X15576438Jacobs DO.Acute appendicitis and peritonitis. Kasper D, Fauci A, Hauser S, Longo D, Jameson J, Loscalzo J (Eds.),Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 19e. McGraw Hill. 2014.Lee SL, Ho HS.Acute appendicitis: is there a difference between children and adults?Am Surg. 2006;72(5):409-413. doi:10.1177/000313480607200509Snyder MJ, Guthrie M, Cagle S.Acute appendicitis: efficient diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(1):25-33.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Appendicitis.NIDDK.Appendicitis.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.Appendicitis in pregnancy.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Appendicitis.Moris D, Paulson EK, Pappas TN.Diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in adults: a review.JAMA.2021;326(22):2299–2311. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.20502Kothadia JP, Katz S, Ginzburg L.Chronic appendicitis: uncommon cause of chronic abdominal pain.Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. 2015;8(3):160-162. doi:10.1177/1756283X15576438Jacobs DO.Acute appendicitis and peritonitis. Kasper D, Fauci A, Hauser S, Longo D, Jameson J, Loscalzo J (Eds.),Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 19e. McGraw Hill. 2014.Lee SL, Ho HS.Acute appendicitis: is there a difference between children and adults?Am Surg. 2006;72(5):409-413. doi:10.1177/000313480607200509Snyder MJ, Guthrie M, Cagle S.Acute appendicitis: efficient diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(1):25-33.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Appendicitis.NIDDK.Appendicitis.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.Appendicitis in pregnancy.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Appendicitis.Moris D, Paulson EK, Pappas TN.Diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in adults: a review.JAMA.2021;326(22):2299–2311. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.20502Kothadia JP, Katz S, Ginzburg L.Chronic appendicitis: uncommon cause of chronic abdominal pain.Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. 2015;8(3):160-162. doi:10.1177/1756283X15576438Jacobs DO.Acute appendicitis and peritonitis. Kasper D, Fauci A, Hauser S, Longo D, Jameson J, Loscalzo J (Eds.),Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 19e. McGraw Hill. 2014.Lee SL, Ho HS.Acute appendicitis: is there a difference between children and adults?Am Surg. 2006;72(5):409-413. doi:10.1177/000313480607200509Snyder MJ, Guthrie M, Cagle S.Acute appendicitis: efficient diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(1):25-33.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Appendicitis.NIDDK.Appendicitis.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.Appendicitis in pregnancy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Appendicitis.
Moris D, Paulson EK, Pappas TN.Diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in adults: a review.JAMA.2021;326(22):2299–2311. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.20502
Kothadia JP, Katz S, Ginzburg L.Chronic appendicitis: uncommon cause of chronic abdominal pain.Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. 2015;8(3):160-162. doi:10.1177/1756283X15576438
Jacobs DO.Acute appendicitis and peritonitis. Kasper D, Fauci A, Hauser S, Longo D, Jameson J, Loscalzo J (Eds.),Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 19e. McGraw Hill. 2014.
Lee SL, Ho HS.Acute appendicitis: is there a difference between children and adults?Am Surg. 2006;72(5):409-413. doi:10.1177/000313480607200509
Snyder MJ, Guthrie M, Cagle S.Acute appendicitis: efficient diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician. 2018;98(1):25-33.
NIDDK.Appendicitis.
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.Appendicitis in pregnancy.
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