OBJECTIVEPrevention of the misdiagnosis of acute appendicitis when it first manifested as acute intestinal obstruction, and to search proper way of diagnosis and treatment for such event to provide the reference.

METHODSClinical data of 33 acute appendicitis cases presented with acute intestinal obstruction in Beijing Tong Ren Hospital during January 2000 and December 2015 were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSAll 33 patients were admitted to the Emergency Department with symptoms of various degrees abdominal pain and abdominal distension. There was no passage of gas and feces. The mean time of onset was (62.2±25.0) hours. The imaging examination showedthat all patients had complete bowel obstruction. Twenty one patients(63.6%) had peritonitis, three of whom developed with septic shock. Abdominal CT was performed in 17 patients preoperatively, which showed retention of gas and fluid in the small intestine in all the patients and 13 were suggestive of acute appendicitis. All of these patients received surgical treatment, 12 patients underwent laparoscopic exploration, and the remaining 21 patients received exploratory laparotomy during which acute appendicitis was confirmed to be the cause of intestinal obstruction, of whom 14(42.4%) was identified as mechanical intestinal obstruction. Nine patients underwent appendectomy and lysis of adhesion, five appendectomy and partial excision of the greateromentum. Nineteenpatients(57.6%) were identified as paralytic ileus and underwent appendectomy only. Twelve patients required respiratory and circulatory support and were admitted to ICU postoperatively. The mean duration time in ICU was(8.8±5.2) days. Postoperative pathology showedgangrene accompanied with perforation in the appendix. All patients were discharged without any complication. The length of hospital stay was (15.4±4.6) days. All patients were followed up for 3 ~ 12 months. One patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease developed repeated pulmonary infection and died of respiratory failure at 185 days postoperatively. The remaining patients were followed up and there were no patients developed intra-abdominalsepsis, intestinal obstruction, surgery-related complications, or death.

CONCLUSIONPatients with acute appendicitis presenting with acute intestinal obstruction are mostly in severe condition. Clinical diagnosis for this patients is difficult and surgery should be performed as soon as possible.