Xanthogranulomatous Appendicitis in a Child: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Xanthogranulomatous inflammation is a well-described inflammatory process, which may involve any organ but is most frequently encountered in the gall bladder and the kidney. There are rare reports of xanthogranulomatous appendicitis (XA) in the adult population, but only one brief mention of such a diagnosis in a child. In this report, we describe the case of an 11-year-old boy who presented with clinical signs and symptoms of acute appendicitis necessitating appendectomy. Upon microscopic examination, the appendix showed the typical features of XA. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first well-described case XA in a noninterval appendix in a child. We also reviewed the limited medical literature on the subject.