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Acute appendicitis after a fall from a ladder: a traumatic aetiology?
  1. R Hagger,
  2. J Constantinou,
  3. S Shrotria
  1. Department of Surgery, Ashford Hospital, Middlesex, UK
  1. Correspondence to:
 Mr R Hagger, 55 Heythorp Street, Southfields, London, SW18 5BS, UK;
 roberthag{at}lineone.net

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Acute appendicitis is the commonest emergency condition requiring surgery in the United Kingdom. Its precise aetiology, however, remains unproven: dietary, genetic factors, and infectious agents have been implicated.1 Trauma has also been proposed as a cause of acute appendicitis, but there are doubts as to whether this is a casual or causal relation. In this case report we produce compelling evidence that trauma can cause acute appendicitis.

CASE REPORT

A previously fit 60 year old man was admitted with abdominal pain three days after a fall from a ladder. The mechanism of injury was that the foot of the ladder slipped away with the patient …

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