ABSTRACT
Background: Acute appendicitis is one of the commonest surgical emergencies. Authors undertook this study to evaluate serum bilirubin levels in acute appendicitis and appendiceal perforation.Methods: A retrospective study evaluating the serum bilirubin levels in acute appendicitis and appendiceal perforation was carried out for 6 years at three tertiary care hospitals at India from 2014 to 2019. Patients having acute appendicitis and appendiceal perforation, confirmed on histopathology, with no other medical or surgical comorbidity were included in the study.Results: The total number of our study subjects was 927. 306 patients had appendiceal perforation, amongst these, 226 (74%) had hyperbilirubinemia. Out of the 621 patients having acute appendicitis only 186 (30%) had hyperbilirubinemia. The lowest and the highest serum bilirubin levels of this study group were 0.6 and 3.1 mg/dl, respectively, with an average of 1.6 mg/dl. In patients diagnosed to be having acute appendicitis, the lowest and highest serum bilirubin levels were 0.6 and 2.4 mg/dl, respectively, with an average of 1.3 mg/dl. As for the patients having appendiceal perforation the lowest and highest serum bilirubin levels were 0.8 and 3.1 mg/dl, respectively, with an average of 1.8 mg/dl.Conclusions: Hyperbilirubinemia is seen in acute appendicitis but predominantly in appendiceal perforation, so serum bilirubin estimation may help us in diagnosing appendiceal perforation pre-operatively if and when used in conjunction with other available diagnostic modalities.
ABSTRACT
Aim: To ascertain the common causes of LGIB in the elderly and to evaluate sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy as the initial investigation for diagnosing LGIB in the elderly in the developing world. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted over a period of two years at SMHS Hospital and Government Medical College Srinagar, a tertiary care centre, Jammu & Kashmir. All the patients above the age of 60 years, presenting with symptoms or complaints of LGIB to the OPD’s and casualty services of the said hospital were enrolled in the study. Exclusion Criteria: Cases presenting with LGIB which were proved by any diagnostic procedures or during laparotomy to originate from any source proximal to ligament of Treitz. Results: The commonest cause of LGIB in our study was local anal disease [haemorrhoids and anal fissures] followed by carcinoma colorectum, inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], solitary rectal ulcers [SRUS] and colonic polyps, in the order of decreasing frequency. Colonoscopy was able to detect the cause of LGIB in all our study subjects. Conclusion: Despite the small number of patients in our study group, it can be concluded that the cause of LGIB in the elderly in our part of the world differs from that of the developed world, although the reasons for this remain unexplained and require more research. As such, elderly patients with complaints of LGIB should be offered the benefits of colonoscopy unless contraindicated by their co-morbidities because of the fact that they may be harbouring a sinister cause of LGIB, i.e., colorectal malignancy.