Unusual histopathologic findings of appendectomy specimens: A retrospective study of cases at Jordan University...

To investigate the incidence and nature of unusual histopathological findings in appendectomy specimens and assess their impact on post-appendectomy management.

A retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent appendectomies at Jordan University Hospital between January 2015 and December 2024. It included patients with presumed diagnoses of acute appendicitis or those who underwent incidental appendectomies during other surgical procedures. Pathology reports with complete data and slides showing unusual findings were retrieved from the archives of the histopathology laboratory of the hospital. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for statistical analysis.

Of the 2,275 patients, unusual histopathological findings were identified in 171 (7.5%). These findings included fibrous obliteration (2%), serositis (1.2%), fecalith impaction (1.1%), low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasms (1%), mucinous adenocarcinoma (0.4%), Enterobius vermicularis infection (0.4%), well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (0.3%), mucosal hyperplasia (0.3%), endometriosis (0.3%), colon carcinomas involving the appendix (0.2%), high-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasms (0.1%), diverticulosis (0.1%), ischemic changes (0.1%) and a sessile serrated polyp (0.0%).

Although acute appendicitis remained the primary diagnosis, appendectomy specimens revealed various incidental pathologies. Notably, mucinous neoplasms were more frequent than well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors.