Hot Off the Press: Does this Adolescent Female Have Appendicitis? Can the Pediatric Appendicitis Score Help?

Abstract

Appendicitis is diagnosed in 1 to 8 percent of children presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) for abdominal pain and is the most common condition requiring emergent abdominal surgery in childhood. The adolescent age group has the highest prevalence.¹ The diagnosis of appendicitis can be missed in children over 50% of the time leading to higher complication rates including perforation. Yet, the negative appendectomy rate (NAR) is not negligible, particularly in children under five years of age (NAR up to 17%) and post-menarchal females (NAR up to 5%).^1,2 The diagnosis of appendicitis, particularly in the pediatric population, is a common yet difficult one.

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