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Case Report: Appendicitis in a 14-month-old infant with respiratory symptoms


G Brisighelli
A Morandi
F Parolini
E Leva

Abstract

Although appendicitis is the condition that most commonly requires emergent abdominal surgery in the paediatric population, less than 2% of the diseaseĀ  occurs in infants and it is even more uncommon in neonates. In this report, we describe a rare case of a 14-month-old child presenting with abdominal pain first diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection and then admitted to our Paediatric Surgery Department with a final diagnosis of acute appendicitis. A particular attention has to be kept on children presenting with an upper respiratory tract infection since symptoms can mask abdominal signs. Due to high morbidity and mortality rate related to a delayed diagnosis, appendicitis always has to be considered as a possible diagnosis, in order to ensure a prompt treatment.

Key words: Acute abdomen, appendicitis, infant, respiratory infections


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eISSN: 0189-6725