The Challenge of Diagnosing Children\'s Appendicitis

The word appendicitis is a fairly common word.  In fact, you would hear people say every now and then, My stomach keeps hurting.  I wonder if I have appendicitis.  The usual response to this by anyone listening would be, Where does it hurt?  If its in the right lower abdomen, it must be appendicitis.

Diagnosing Appendicitis Generally
If only its that easy to diagnose the condition.  In actual truth, diagnosing appendicitis has always been a little bit tricky.  Many physicians are facing lawsuits after they opened up a patient and found no trace of abnormal appendix.

It is very difficult to really diagnose a clear case of appendicitis because the symptoms of the disease are often unspecific – vague, if you may say so.  Rarely do symptoms of this disease generate visible manifestations.  Physicians would often require additional laboratory tests in order to back up their diagnosis.  They'd recommend a series of lab tests including blood analysis, magnetic resonance imaging or MRI, computerized tomography or CT and ultrasound tests.

Now, if diagnosing appendicitis is difficult with adults, it is almost impossible when it comes to children.  Diagnosing appendicitis in children is certainly a huge task for physicians.

Diagnosing Appendicitis in Children
Chronic appendicitis can occur in any age.  Toddlers as young as 2 years old may have appendicitis.  Rarely does it happen though that infants have appendicitis.  Children suffering from this disease find it difficult to cope with the painful symptoms.  Sadly, by the time they present to physicians, they already exhibit various complications.

Oftentimes, appendicitis in children comes with different clinical manifestations.  Although children experience the characteristic symptoms of appendicitis which includes acute abdominal pain and discomfort, vomiting, nausea and fatigue, they also experience other uncharacteristic symptoms that are apparently common in appendicitis in children.  These symptoms include irritability and loss of appetite.  They also experience intense sweating, high fever and chills.  These latter symptoms are largely because of the bacterial infections in the appendix.  You can say that appendicitis signs in children have exacerbated symptoms.

Children tend to experience the symptoms more intensely and painfully.  They, however, cannot communicate their symptoms well unlike adults.  Doctors, therefore, would have to rely largely on his observation, the patient's physical examination and the laboratory results in order to arrive at a diagnosis.

My childs symptoms are classic of appendicitis, why can't you operate?  True, childrens symptoms may be classic of the disease with its intense abdominal pain and other visible symptoms; however, it is hard to reach a diagnosis because appendicitis symptoms mimic the symptoms of other diseases.  This is why it is advisable that the physician thoroughly examine the patient.  The child must also undergo several lab tests including MRI and CT scan in order to have a more reliable basis for an appendicitis diagnosis.  The physician would then give his diagnosis based on the physical examinations and laboratory results.  If these all point to a proper diagnosis of appendicitis, the physician would then recommend the appropriate medical treatment for appendicitis in children.