Discitis as a cause of abdominal pain in children.

The purpose of this study is to draw attention to inflammatory disease of lumbar intervertebral discs in children as a source of referred abdominal pain. For three children presenting with abdominal pain the eventual diagnosis was discitis of the lumbar spine. Failure to examine the patient's backs at the initial examinations resulted in a delay in diagnosis ranging from 66 to 2 days. Treatment with antibiotics and spinal jacket was effective in all cases.