Abstract

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of abdominal pain in the pediatric population requiring surgery. However, the classic signs are not always present and symptoms may be nonspecific and overlap with other causes of abdominal pain. Material and Method: A retrospective cohort study type in the pediatric population of 1-12 years of age with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis over a period of 3.5 years in a referral hospital was performed second level. Results: During the study period 43 patients were analyzed between 1 and 12-years-old with abdominal ultrasound diagnosis; the most difficult group to diagnose: 1 to 4 years, presented 9 cases (21%); male female ratio was 1:1; the most affected age group was 10 to 12 years with 14 cases (32.56%); the duration of symptoms between 13-24 hours was the highest with 18 cases (41.86%); the postoperative hospital stay was increased from 2 to 3 days with 24 cases (55.81%); the degree of macroscopic appendicitis corresponded to grade II 20 cases (46.52%) and 4 minor postoperative complications (9.30%) occurred. The number of perforated appendices (grade IV) with 14 cases (32.56%). Discussion: The diagnosis of appendicitis can be challenging particularly in patients younger than 4 years. Abdominal pain only corresponds to 2% of cases of acute appendicitis.

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