Wilson D, Sinclair S, McCallion W A, Potts S R
Royal Belfast Hospital For Sick Children.
Ulster Med J. 1994 Apr;63(1):3-7.
Eighty-one cases of acute appendicitis in children aged less than six years were identified in the Belfast urban area between 1985 and 1992. Appendiceal perforation, found in 43%, was related to symptom duration but not to age at presentation. Prolongation of symptoms was related to parental delay in seeking medical advice (52% > 36 hours), delayed or inappropriate general practitioner referral to hospital (19%) and diagnostic delay following surgical consultation (12% > 12 hours). Diagnostic delay in hospital was usually the result of nonspecificity of symptoms and signs and was therefore largely unavoidable. Delayed referral from general practice did not contribute unnecessarily to appendiceal perforation, and given that an individual general practitioner will see a case of preschool appendicitis once in 30 years, diagnostic accuracy was remarkably high.
1985年至1992年期间，在贝尔法斯特市区确认了81例6岁以下儿童的急性阑尾炎病例。发现43%的病例存在阑尾穿孔，这与症状持续时间有关，但与就诊时的年龄无关。症状延长与家长延迟就医（52%超过36小时）、全科医生延迟或不适当转诊至医院（19%）以及手术会诊后诊断延迟（12%超过12小时）有关。医院内的诊断延迟通常是症状和体征不具特异性的结果，因此在很大程度上不可避免。全科医疗的延迟转诊并未不必要地导致阑尾穿孔，而且鉴于个体全科医生30年才会遇到一例学龄前阑尾炎病例，诊断准确率相当高。
