Uncommon Surgical Causes Of Right Lower Quadrant Pain In Children. Single Center Experience

Right lower quadrant pain is one of the major reasons of children reference at the emergency department. The most common surgical cause, which needs appropriate management, is acute appendicitis. The purpose of this study is to reveal uncommon surgical causes found during surgery in children who were misdiagnosed as acute appendicitis in our department during the last 10 y. Data of patients who have undergone appendicectomy during a ten year period (since Feb 2004 until Mar 2014) were collected retrospectively. Eight hundred twenty children have undergone appendicectomy in our department. In six children another uncommon cause of the symptoms was revealed during surgery. In one patient the cause was a duplication cyst of the terminal ileum, in two patients an omental torsion, in one patient a meckel diverticulum torsion, in one patient a splenic rupture and in one patient a retroperitoneal tumor. All of the patients were successfully managed during the first operation. The possibility of other uncommon causes of right quadrant abdominal pain should always be kept in mind, especially when there is a negative appendicitis. However, the transaction of further paraclinical examinations - ultrasonography or computed tomography- preoperatively is under discussion. Nevertheless a thoroughly taken case history is undoubtedly always necessary.