[Acute appendicitis: is this common pathology still of interest?]

Despite the indisputable progress of technology (laboratory analyses, scintigraphy, ultrasonography, computed tomography), the diagnosis of acute appendicitis often remains uncertain, with a rate of useless appendectomies amounting to almost 20% of cases. The ideal diagnostic test has yet to be discovered and, in any case, clinical observation remains the cornerstone of any decision-making algorithm. Thus, acute appendicitis continues to offer food for thought in relation to the aetiology of the condition, which is still unknown, the primacy of the clinical diagnosis, and the learning of the surgical skills required. In the present study, the authors compare their personal experience with the relevant data in the international literature, emphasising a number of issues such as the problem of diagnosis, acute appendicitis in pregnancy, laparoscopic therapy, and the so-called "useless appendectomies" and presenting their own point of view.