Acute appendicitis risk in various phases of the menstrual cycle

The significantly different age-specific incidence of acute appendicitis between males and females in the second, third and fourth decades of life led to a study of the frequency of acute appendicitis and the degree of appendiceal inflammation found at operation in the different phases of the menstrual cycle. The frequency of acute appendicitis was almost twice as high in the luteal phase as in the other half of the menstrual cycle. The proportion of gangrenous, perforated or normal appendices was significantly higher in the menstrual and follicular phases of the cycle. The study indicated that the female sex hormones may play an important etiologic part in acute appendicitis or may influence the inflammatory process in the appendix.