Abstract

It is known that the most common causes of lower gastrointestinal bleeding are diverticulosis and angiodysplasia. In addition to these causes, a malignant neoplasm, hemorrhoids, Meckel’s diverticulum, infection, Crohn’s disease, inflammatory disease due to radiation treatment, ischemic colitis, and vasculitis due to connective tissue disease can commonly produce lower gastrointestinal bleeding. A colon varix, endometriosis, or Dieulafoy's lesion rarely causes lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Lower gastrointestinal bleeding that is localized to the appendix is extremely rare, and may be caused by angiodysplasia, an ulcer due to aspirin, endometriosis, a lymphoma, or fissures on the mucous membrane associated with appendicitis. A colonoscopy, radioisotope scan, and angiography are modalities used to diagnose lower gastrointestinal bleeding, and recently, multi-detector row CT (MDCT) has been used for cases where it has been difficult to locate a lesion with other methods or to diagnose a patient when endoscopic access was not available. We report a case of a patient that came to the hospital complaining of hematochezia, and bleeding in the appendix was determined after an MDCT examination and colonoscopy. Subsequently, the patient was treated with surgery. (Intest Res 2007;5:184-187)

• Keywords: Lower Gastrointestinal Tract; Angiodysplasia; Appendix