ArticleGut2002
Effects of appendicectomy on the course of ulcerative colitis.
Article in Gut, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 146 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
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- Evidence for genetic correlation between appendix and inflammatory bowel disease: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Dietary and Lifestyle Risk Factors in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: In Search of Mechanistic Explanations and Health Improvement.The Journal of nutrition · 2025Review
- Distinct microbiota composition and dendritic cell activation in the appendix microenvironment of ulcerative colitis patients.Gut microbes · 2025Article
- Age-Related Transcriptomic Changes in the Vermiform Appendix.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Appendectomy Is Not Associated With a Milder Clinical Course of Ulcerative Colitis: A Nationwide Danish Population-Based Study.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2025Article
- Association of appendectomy with disease phenotype and clinical course in Crohn's disease: results from two cohorts.Techniques in coloproctology · 2025Article
- Protective effect of appendectomy against the onset of ulcerative colitis: A case-control study.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2024Review
- Prior Appendicectomy and Gut Microbiota Re-Establishment in Adults after Bowel Preparation and Colonoscopy.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Antibiotic Use in the 12 Months Prior to Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis Increases the Risk for Pouchitis.Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association · 2024Article
- Association of diet and outdoor time with inflammatory bowel disease: a multicenter case-control study using propensity matching analysis in China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The appendix and ulcerative colitis - an unsolved connection.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2023Review
- Appendix and Ulcerative Colitis: a Key to Explaining the Pathogenesis and Directing Novel Therapies?Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2023Review
- Acute appendicitis and ulcerative colitis: a population-based sibling comparison study.BMJ open gastroenterology · 2022Article
- Significance of diagnosis and prognosis for appendiceal orifice inflammation in ulcerative colitis: a real-world study.BMJ open · 2022Observational
- Long-term impacts of appendectomy associated with increased incidence of inflammatory bowel disease, infection, and colorectal cancer.International journal of colorectal disease · 2021Article
- Human gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT); diversity, structure, and function.Mucosal immunology · 2021Review
- Effects of Appendectomy on the Onset and Course of Ulcerative Colitis in Chinese Patients.Gastroenterology research and practice · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on byAppendix redux.2002
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAppendicectomy reduces the risk of having ulcerative colitis. However, its effect on the natural history of ulcerative colitis remains uncertain.
aimTo determine whether appendicectomy reduces the overall severity of ulcerative colitis. PATIENTS AND
methodsAppendicectomy status and smoking habits were specified by direct interview in 638 patients seen consecutively between 1997 and 2000. Severity of ulcerative colitis was assessed by reviewing therapeutic needs from the onset of colitis. Additionally, the annual incidence of flare up was assessed prospectively between 1997 and 2000 in patients who had not been colectomised.
resultsThe 10 year risk of colectomy was 16 (7)% in previously appendicectomised patients (n=49) compared with 33 (2)% in non-appendicectomised patients (n=589, p=0.05). Cox regression showed that previous appendicectomy and current smoking were independent factors protecting against colectomy (adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals: 0.40 (0.20-0.78) and 0.60 (0.40-0.95), respectively). The respective proportions of appendicectomised and non-appendicectomised patients who required oral steroids and immunosuppressive therapy were not significantly different (67% v 70% and 27% v 19%, respectively). Between 1997 and 2000, ulcerative colitis was active for 48% of the time in appendicectomised patients (47 of 98 patient years) and for 62% of the time in non-appendicectomised patients (631 of 1024 patient years; p<0.01).
conclusionPrevious appendicectomy is associated with a less severe course of ulcerative colitis. The beneficial effect of appendicectomy on the risk of colectomy is additive to that of current smoking.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.