{"title":"Appendicitis and non-specific abdominal pain","authors":"Shabnam Parkar","doi":"10.1016/j.mpsur.2025.07.001","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency in children and remains a core competency for all paediatric surgeons and junior trainees in surgical practice. Despite this, it can pose a diagnostic challenge in certain circumstances as well as challenges in management. It is essential to understand the basic pathophysiology of appendicitis and its differing presentations in different age groups as well as being aware of the appropriate clinical, laboratory-based and radiological investigations needed to formulate a coherent list of differential diagnoses and appropriate management plans. Acute appendicitis is best treated with appendicectomy, be it open or laparoscopic, and is different to the management of appendiceal mass. Although newer studies are also looking at the feasibility of conservative management in simple appendicitis as is increasingly being used in adult practice. This chapter aims to provide a practical and evidence-based guide tailored for surgeons caring for children with appendicitis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74889,"journal":{"name":"Surgery (Oxford, Oxfordshire)","volume":"43 8","pages":"Pages 498-502"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Surgery (Oxford, Oxfordshire)","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263931925001103","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency in children and remains a core competency for all paediatric surgeons and junior trainees in surgical practice. Despite this, it can pose a diagnostic challenge in certain circumstances as well as challenges in management. It is essential to understand the basic pathophysiology of appendicitis and its differing presentations in different age groups as well as being aware of the appropriate clinical, laboratory-based and radiological investigations needed to formulate a coherent list of differential diagnoses and appropriate management plans. Acute appendicitis is best treated with appendicectomy, be it open or laparoscopic, and is different to the management of appendiceal mass. Although newer studies are also looking at the feasibility of conservative management in simple appendicitis as is increasingly being used in adult practice. This chapter aims to provide a practical and evidence-based guide tailored for surgeons caring for children with appendicitis.