Appendicitis is one of the most common surgical diagnoses. The failure to diagnose appendicitis is among the five leading causes of adverse outcomes, patient injury and successful litigation involving emergency, urgent care and primary care physicians. As many as 30% of patients with proven appendicitis have been previously seen and erroneously discharged by another clinician. Practitioners must think of appendicitis whenever a patient presents with abdominal pain, and provide the appropriate evaluation, observation and management.
In this activity, we examine the reasons that practitioners delay or miss the diagnosis of appendicitis, using case studies as examples. We also review the classic presentation of appendicitis, discuss various diagnostic techniques, and highlight key patient management issues. After completing this activity, practitioners should be able to: identify atypical presentations of appendicitis in patients with acute abdominal pain; incorporate observation and reevaluation over time in the evaluation of abdominal pain patients in order to distinguish between patients with and without appendicitis; and integrate the issues related to the physiologic changes of pregnancy into the evaluation of pregnant patients with abdominal pain in order to reduce the failure to diagnose appendicitis.
- Provider:The Sullivan Group
- Activity Link: https://www.thesullivangroup.com/RSQSolutions/course-purchase-home/
- Start Date: 2023-07-30 05:00:00
- End Date: 2023-07-30 05:00:00
- Credit Details: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™️: 2.0 hours
- Commercial Support: No
- Activity Type: Enduring Material
- CME Finder Type: Online Learning
- Fee to Participate: Variable
- Measured Outcome: Learner Competence, Learner Knowledge, Learner Performance, Patient Health
- Provider Ship: Directly Provided
- Registration: Open to all