Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature
There have been sporadic case reports describing ‘traumatic appendicitis’ (acute appendicitis occurring following injury) for almost a hundred years. Although this might seem to be an interesting and rare diagnosis for the journal reader, both appendicitis and trauma are very common, and their occur...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| Online Access: | https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001093.full |
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| author | David N Naumann Tom Barker |
| author_facet | David N Naumann Tom Barker |
| author_sort | David N Naumann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There have been sporadic case reports describing ‘traumatic appendicitis’ (acute appendicitis occurring following injury) for almost a hundred years. Although this might seem to be an interesting and rare diagnosis for the journal reader, both appendicitis and trauma are very common, and their occurrence together may only give the illusion of causality. Indeed, such a diagnosis may not even exist. We provide an illustration of the statistical phenomenon of coincidental occurrences in nature using a computer simulation of traumatic appendicitis in the UK population. In our simulation, there are enough cases of traumatic appendicitis every 2 years to 3 years to account for the entire global literature on the topic. We suggest that unless there is a credible pathological process reported with demonstrable causality, further case reports of traumatic appendicitis need to have robust justification. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-834c86dc3f4e4a549ed765aa09174dca |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2397-5776 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-834c86dc3f4e4a549ed765aa09174dca2025-08-20T02:09:56ZengBMJ Publishing GroupTrauma Surgery & Acute Care Open2397-57762023-11-018110.1136/tsaco-2023-001093Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in natureDavid N Naumann0Tom Barker1Academic Department of Military Surgery and Trauma, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UKAcademic Department of Military Surgery and Trauma, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UKThere have been sporadic case reports describing ‘traumatic appendicitis’ (acute appendicitis occurring following injury) for almost a hundred years. Although this might seem to be an interesting and rare diagnosis for the journal reader, both appendicitis and trauma are very common, and their occurrence together may only give the illusion of causality. Indeed, such a diagnosis may not even exist. We provide an illustration of the statistical phenomenon of coincidental occurrences in nature using a computer simulation of traumatic appendicitis in the UK population. In our simulation, there are enough cases of traumatic appendicitis every 2 years to 3 years to account for the entire global literature on the topic. We suggest that unless there is a credible pathological process reported with demonstrable causality, further case reports of traumatic appendicitis need to have robust justification.https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001093.full |
| spellingShingle | David N Naumann Tom Barker Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| title | Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature |
| title_full | Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature |
| title_fullStr | Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature |
| title_short | Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature |
| title_sort | traumatic appendicitis is probably not real an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature |
| url | https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001093.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidnnaumann traumaticappendicitisisprobablynotrealanillustrativeanalysisofcoincidentaloccurrencesinnature AT tombarker traumaticappendicitisisprobablynotrealanillustrativeanalysisofcoincidentaloccurrencesinnature |