Pathogenic Bacteria Associated With Acute Appendicitis: A Review Article

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common abdominal emergencies, yet the cause is still not clearly understood. The most accepted theory is based on luminal obstruction, but obstructive fecaliths are found in only a portion of the patients. In fact, the bacterial etiology of appendicitis may be more common than fecal-foreign body. Literature was searched for studies that isolated bacteria from the appendix using either culturing techniques or molecular techniques and were case-control in nature. The main scope of this review is to provide an overview of the studies conducted regarding the role of bacteria in the causation of appendicitis, as well as to review recent molecular studies.