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The Role of Viruses in Human Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Literature Review Publisher Pubmed



Soltani S1 ; Kesheh MM2 ; Siri G3 ; Faramarzi S4 ; Shahbahrami R1 ; Didehdar M5 ; Erfani Y6 ; Farahani A7, 8
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Department of Internal Medicine, Amir Alam Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Karaj, Iran
  5. 5. Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
  6. 6. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  7. 7. Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran
  8. 8. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran

Source: International Journal of Colorectal Disease Published:2023


Abstract

Background: There have been debates about the human appendix function, and while previous research suggested it might be a vestigial organ with no functional significance, recent studies have pointed out that it might have an important role in the immune system. Acute appendicitis (AA) is a common cause of emergency abdominal surgery in the world. Some epidemiologic investigations have found an association between appendicitis and viral infections. In this study, we have reviewed systematically articles to discover viral infections that cause appendicitis and find any possible correlations between the two. Methods: This systematic review was performed by searching among electronic databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE on viruses and appendicitis topics. Results: Conducted search leads to 983 results in all databases after the duplicate removal and screening by title, abstract, and full-text based on inclusion criteria lead to 19 studies. There were several assays to detect the viruses, which are thought to be AA causative agents. RT-PCR and immunoassays were the mainstay methods to detect the probable cause. Conclusion: Investigations suggested that some viruses including measles virus (MV), influenza virus, dengue fever virus (DFV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human herpesviruses, rotavirus, and adenovirus are associated with acute appendicitis. Despite the available reports, the specific mechanisms behind the relationship between acute appendicitis and viral infections are yet to be understood. Therefore, further investigations are necessary to find out the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of viral complications in appendicitis. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.