Acute appendicitis in children: age as a prognostic factor

Abstract

In order to determine the behavior of acute appendicitis and its relationship with age, a retrospective comparative descriptive study was conducted in patients who underwent appendectomy at the José Luis Miranda Pediatric University Hospital in Santa Clara during 2009. The sample consisted of 156 patients, aged between 3 and 15 years. The clinical and laboratory variables were studied, as well as the stage of the appendix at the moment of intervention in 3 different age groups. In patients under 5 years of age, nonspecific signs and symptoms such as generalized pain without Murphy sequence and general distention predominated, as well as complicated forms of the disease. It is in this age group where the major difficulties in diagnosing the disease appeared.

Keywords

• apendicitis/diagnóstico
• apendicitis/cirugía
• pediatría