ACUTE APPENDICITIS IN A 3-MONTHS-OLD INFANT: A CASE REPORT

• Main Author: Stefano Giusto Picchi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associazione Italiana Giovani Medici 2020-05-01
• Series: Euromediterranean Biomedical Journal
• Subjects: humans; infant; acute disease; appendicitis
• Online Access: http://www.embj.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Picchi_19.pdf

Acute infantile appendicitis is an extremely rare condition, with high morbidity and mortality rates. Its clinical presentation is non-specific, therefore clinical diagnosis is often difficult and may be misunderstood by other medical conditions. Ultrasonography plays a fundamental role in diagnosis of infantile appendicitis. In this case report we present a case of a 3-months-old male infant taken to the Emergency Department by his parents due to repeated attacks of vomiting and inconsolable crying. Our case was diagnosed as acute infantile appendicitis for which urgent surgery approach was necessary. The purpose of our case report is to serve as a reminder to always consider acute appendicitis as a cause of infantile acute abdomen, after having excluded all the most common causes reported previously.