True/False MCQ · Appendicitis and Appendiceal Disease
Regarding acute appendicitis, the following statements are TRUE:
- AIt is the most common cause of an acute abdomen
- BObstruction (often by a faecolith) is a common initiating factor
- CIt is most common in infants under 1 year of age
- DPain classically begins centrally and shifts to the right iliac fossa
- EAnorexia is a common associated feature
Show answers and explanation
- A. True
- B. True
- C. False: Acute appendicitis is rare in infancy; it peaks in the teens to early twenties, not in infants under 1 year.
- D. True
- E. True
Acute appendicitis: core facts
Appendicitis is the commonest surgical acute abdomen.
Key features
- Most common cause of an acute abdomen.
- Often obstructive (faecolith) - 50-80%.
- Pain begins centrally/periumbilically and shifts to the RIF.
- Anorexia is a useful and constant feature.
Epidemiology
- Common in childhood and early adult life, peaking in the teens to early 20s; rare in infants.
Statement-by-statement verdict
Why A is true
It is the commonest acute abdomen.
Why B is true
Obstruction by a faecolith is a common initiating factor.
Why C is false
Appendicitis is rare in infants under 1 year; it peaks in the teens to early 20s.
Why D is true
Pain shifts from central to the RIF.
Why E is true
Anorexia is a common feature.
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