Incidental Parasitic Infestations in Surgically Removed Appendices and its Association with Inflammation

Abstract

Background:. To determine the frequency and
type of parasitic infestations in surgically removed
appendices based on histopathological findings and
to assess its association with inflammation.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study 471
appendices removed were included and their
histopathologic examination reports were observed.
In cases with parasitic infestations, information
regarding gender, age and presence of inflammation
was gathered. Fisher’s exact test at 5% level of
significance was applied to compare presence of
inflammatory infiltrates in appendices with and
without parasites.
Results: Of the 471 appendectomies performed, 15
(3.18%) specimens were found to contain parasites,
all of which were Enterobius vermicularis
(pinworm). In those 15 cases, age of patients ranged
from 9 to 45 years with a mean age of 19.07 ± 9.04
years. Out of those 15 patients, 11 (73.3%) were
females and 4 (26.7%) were males (male to female
ratio was 1:2.75). Only 2 out of 15 cases (13.3%) with
parasitic infestation had inflammation, whereas in
456 of the remaining non-parasitic appendices, 324
(71.1%) were positive for inflammation. This
difference was statistically significant with a p value
< 0.05.
Conclusion: Frequency of parasitic infestations in
surgically removed appendices is low. Very few
appendices with parasitic infestation are associated
with inflammation as compared to appendices
without parasites.