Appendicitis
Basics
Description
Acute inflammation or infection of the vermiform appendix
Epidemiology
- Most common surgical emergency of childhood
- Incidence rate (per 10,000 person-years):
- 2 in 0- to 4-year olds,
- 10 in 5- to 9-year olds,
- 15 in 10- to 14-year olds
- 293,000 admissions in the United States in 2010
- 80,000 pediatric appendectomies per year in United States
- Most commonly seen in 2nd decade of life; <5% are aged 0 to 4 years old
- Affects boys more commonly than girls
Pathophysiology
- Acute inflammation of the appendiceal lumen is caused by obstruction (i.e., by a fecalith, calculi, parasites, hyperplastic lymphoid tissue, or tumor).
- Appendix is innervated by somatic afferent nerves of the 10th dermatome overlying the epigastrium and periumbilical areas.
- In the first phase of pain, occlusion causing increasing wall tension results in vague pain poorly referred to this area.
- Increasing wall tension and full-thickness serositis results in inflammation of surrounding tissues, and the second phase of pain is localized to the area in which the appendix is lying.
- In 85% of patients, this tenderness is located at McBurney point; however, pelvic, retrocecal, retroperitoneal, inguinoscrotal, or other orientations will result in variance of location and intensity of this pain.
Commonly Associated Conditions
Neonatal appendicitis is associated most commonly with prematurity, inguinal hernia, and Hirschsprung disease.
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Citation
Cabana, Michael D., editor. "Appendicitis." 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 8th ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2019. Pediatrics Central, peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617106/1.2/Appendicitis.
Appendicitis. In: Cabana MDM, ed. 5-Minute Pediatric Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2019. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617106/1.2/Appendicitis. Accessed December 7, 2024.
Appendicitis. (2019). In Cabana, M. D. (Ed.), 5-Minute Pediatric Consult (8th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617106/1.2/Appendicitis
Appendicitis [Internet]. In: Cabana MDM, editors. 5-Minute Pediatric Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2019. [cited 2024 December 07]. Available from: https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/5-Minute-Pediatric-Consult/617106/1.2/Appendicitis.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
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