What to do if a child has appendicitis?

Some parents hear their children complain of stomach pain, and later go for a check-up and find out that it turns out to be acute appendicitis. Appendicitis is a relatively common abdominal disease, and the pain is severe during an acute attack. However, as long as it is diagnosed and treated in time, there will be no serious consequences. So what should we do if a child has appendicitis? What treatments can be used? Let me introduce them to you below.

Acute appendicitis in children is a common acute abdomen in pediatric abdominal surgery. Children account for approximately 10% of patients of all ages. The peak incidence is between 6 and 12 years old. It is less common in children under 5 years old, and the incidence is even lower in children under 1 year old. This may be related to the development of the appendix in young children. During this period, the opening of the appendix in the cecum is wider and valve-shaped, and is not easy to form obstruction, so the chance of acute appendicitis is also small. Some scholars have reported that the incidence of appendicitis in children is related to the season. The incidence of appendicitis is also high in March and early spring when upper respiratory tract infections are more common, and in July and August when gastroenteritis is more common.

Some people believe that parasites and irritation of the intestines and appendix are one of the causes of this disease, such as pinworm appendicitis and ascariasis appendicitis. The cause of other types of appendicitis has not been identified.

Acute appendicitis in children should be diagnosed and treated promptly:

1. Catarrhal or early mild suppurative appendicitis can be treated conservatively if the onset time is short.

2. In principle, non-surgical treatment should be used for appendiceal masses and periappendiceal abscesses.

3. Severe suppurative appendicitis and gangrenous appendicitis should be treated surgically.

4. Obstructive appendicitis (including fecal stones, ascariasis, and adhesion stenosis) should be treated surgically.

5. Appendectomy perforation peritonitis should be treated surgically in a timely manner.

Any occurrence of appendicitis will cause pain to children. Once parents find that their children have symptoms similar to appendicitis, they should take their children for further examination in time and diagnose and treat them based on relevant examination results. If not treated in time, it is likely to delay the disease and make it worse, so it needs to be taken seriously.