A case of pneumococcal typhlitis

A 29-year-old man had abdominal pain for 24 hours. This and the results of an abdominal examination were typical of acute appendicitis. He had suffered sinusitis for two weeks. At operation, the appendix was normal; there was an abscess in the cecal wall, the exudate of which grew pneumococci. Incidental appendectomy was done and the patient was treated successfully with lincomycin hydrochloride, and later, cephalexin monohydrate. It is possible that the typhlitis was secondary to the upper respiratory infection.