Peer Reviewed
1
Publication Date
8-16-2016
Document Type
Case Report
Abstract
Acute appendicitis, while common in younger patients, is an unusual cause for hospitalization among older adults. We report a case series of 3 individuals who had been previously implanted with a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) for end-stage heart failure, and who subsequently developed acute appendicitis. Both axial-flow technology and nonpulsatile systemic blood flow have been implicated as potential causes for bleeding and thrombosis in contemporary LVAD populations(1-3). This case series represents the first report of acute appendicitis as an adverse event following LVAD implantation and represents a patient demographic that would historically be at very low-risk for this illness. Our patients, their presentation, and the associated pathologic findings raise the possibility of a unique link between appendiceal inflammation and CF-LVAD support that warrants attention.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.13023/VAD.2016.17
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Roark, Joshua S.; Abisogun, Akinniran A.; and Katz, Jason N.
(2016)
"Acute Appendicitis: A Potential Complication of Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device Support,"
The VAD Journal: Vol. 2, Article 17.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13023/VAD.2016.17
Available at:
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/vad/vol2/iss1/17