Eosinophilic granuloma of the appendix

The emergency physician is frequently frustrated by the symptom of recurrent abdominal pain. This complaint is particularly troubling when the patient localizes the pain to the right lower quadrant. On an isolated visit, acute appendicitis is the condition which demands primary consideration, because of both its frequency and the consequences of failure to make a prompt diagnosis. When right lower quadrant abdominal pain is recognized as being recurrent, the emergency department physician must consider a broader range of diagnostic possibilities. This illustrative case presents one unusual element of the differential diagnosis of this symptom.