Nguyen PD, Lam TK. Schistosomal appendicitis: A serious and often misdiagnosed condition. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(10): 102022 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i10.102022]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Thanh Kien Lam, MD, The Faculty of Medical Technology, Van Lang University, No. 69/68 Dang Thuy Tram Street, Ward 13, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Viet Nam. thanh.lk@vlu.edu.vn
Research Domain of This Article
Parasitology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Schistosomal appendicitis: A serious and often misdiagnosed condition
Phi Duong Nguyen, Thanh Kien Lam
Phi Duong Nguyen, Orthopaedic-Burn-Plastic Surgery, City Children’s Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City 71815, Viet Nam
Thanh Kien Lam, The Faculty of Medical Technology, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Viet Nam
Author contributions: Nguyen PD and Lam TK conceived and designed the letter; Nguyen PD analyzed the literature and wrote the initial draft; Lam TK provided critical revisions to the manuscript and supervision; and both authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Thanh Kien Lam, MD, The Faculty of Medical Technology, Van Lang University, No. 69/68 Dang Thuy Tram Street, Ward 13, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Viet Nam. thanh.lk@vlu.edu.vn
Received: October 5, 2024 Revised: November 5, 2024 Accepted: December 5, 2024 Published online: April 6, 2025 Processing time: 74 Days and 9.4 Hours
Abstract
Schistosomal appendicitis (SA) is a rare but serious complication of schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease affecting over 250 million people worldwide. A recent retrospective study by Wang et al provides important insights into the clinicopathological characteristics of SA. The study compared 136 cases of SA to 5418 cases of non-SA over a ten-year period. Key findings include a higher average age of SA patients (61.73 years vs 35.8 years for non-SA), a higher proportion of acute on chronic appendicitis (33.1% vs 16%), and a significantly higher incidence of colorectal cancer (11.7% vs 2.2%). Despite these differences, SA remains a diagnostic challenge due to its nonspecific clinical presentation and lack of specific laboratory findings. The study also highlights the persistent prevalence of SA, accounting for 1.6%-3.4% of all appendicitis cases each year from 2013 to 2023. These findings underscore the need for enhanced awareness, early detection, and prompt treatment of SA in endemic regions. Given the association with colorectal cancer, patients with SA require thorough screening and follow-up. Further research into the pathogenesis and diagnostic markers of SA is warranted. As the global battle against schistosomiasis continues, targeted efforts to diagnose and manage SA can significantly improve patient outcomes.
Core Tip: This is a study to investigate clinical and pathological characteristics of schistosomal appendicitis (SA). SA is a serious disease, which is easy to be complicated with intestinal malignant tumors. SA has no specific clinical manifestations and laboratory tests, and the prognosis may be poor. It is more likely to be misdiagnosed and missed diagnosis in clinical work. Although chronic schistosomiasis has decreased year by year, the proportion of SA has not decreased in the past decade.
