An 8-year-old boy presents to the emergency department complaining of generalized abdominal pain for the past 24 hours. Laboratory tests reveal a leukocytosis of 13,000 and he is tender in the RLQ on physical examination. He is taken to the operating room for laparoscopic appendectomy. Removal of the appendix has been associated with a protective effect of which of the following?
A. Crohn colitisThe appendix is an immunologic organ involved in secretion of immunoglobulins. An inverse association between appendectomy and development of ulcerative colitis has been reported. Routine resection of the normal appendix to improve the clinical course of ulcerative colitis is not generally indicated.