Acute Amoebic Appendicitis: Case Report and Review of Parasitic Appendicitis

Amoebic appendicitis is very rare, occurring in about 0.5 % to 2 % of acute appendicitis, and usually not reported in children. We report a case of confirmed acute amoebic appendicitis complicating amoebic colitis in a 7-year-old Pakistani boy living in southern Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and briefly review the literature on parasitic appendicitis. Key words. Appendicitis; Entamoeba histolytica A 7-year-old Pakistani boy living in southern Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was admitted to Ibn Sina College Hospital because of a 24-hour history of fever, recurrent vomiting, generalized abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea. General examination revealed a toxic child with temperature of 39.5°C, pulse 110 beats/min, respiratory rate 36/min, and blood pressure 95/65 mm Hg, with pallor but no jaundice or cyano-sis. Abdominal examination revealed only mild disten-sion and tenderness along the course of the colon. Th