Acute appendicitis in newborns (literature review and own data)

Abstract

Most often, acute appendicitis occurs in premature babies. The mortality rate from neonatal acute appendicitis in 2000 was 25-28%. Most often, the cause of inflammation of the appendix in newborns is a local form of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Purpose - is to provide up-to-date information and to familiarise a wide range of medical professionals with the current issues of diagnosis and treatment of acute appendicitis in newborns.

Acute appendicitis in newborns has a similar course to necrotizing enterocolitis. However, it should be noted that treatment tactics for these diseases are different. Necrotic enterocolitis in the absence of perforation and peritonitis is treated with conservative methods, while appendicitis is treated surgically in all cases.

Ultrasound diagnosis has an advantage over computed tomography because it does not have a radiation burden on the newborn, so it is recommended as the first line of diagnosis among other imaging methods.

In the case of appendage perforation, an important method is inspection radiography and the search for free gas in the abdominal cavity (52% of appendage perforations are visualized by inspection roentgenography). Сonclusions. Due to the rare occurrence of acute appendicitis among newborns, doctors may be less wary of this pathology, which often causes significant changes in the child's body and is a frequent cause of septic conditions due to the rapid spread of the inflammatory process due to the anatomical and physiological characteristics of newborns. The speed of diagnosis and medical care, the correct determination of treatment tactics directly reduces the frequency and severity of postoperative complications, including purulent inflammatory diseases of the abdominal cavity and abdominal wall, as well as adhesive disease and adhesive intestinal obstruction in the first place.

No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.