[Acute appendicitis in newborn infants]

Twenty-two observations of acute destructive appendicitis in newborns of 4 to 28 days of age are presented. A marked necrotic component of the inflammation with perforation and partial self-amputation is noted. It is assumed that a combination of general and local factors is important in the pathogenesis of acute appendicitis in newborns, with the leading role of systemic factors developing in newborns under conditions of hypoxia or infection: disturbance of the circulation in organs increased permeability of the histohematic barrier, loss of resistance and protective role of the intestinal flora with increasing activity of conditionally-pathogenic gram-negative (endogenous and exogenous) microbial flora.