[Acute appendicitis in the child].

The appendicitis is the commonest cause of an acute abdomen in children older 1 year of age. Only 5% of children with appendicitis are younger than 2 years of age. There is a familial preponderance. The younger the child the faster the symptoms of the disease are increasing in intensity. The symptoms starts with unspecific periumbilical or epigastric pain, followed by nausea, vomiting and restlessness at night. Finally the pain moves to the position of the appendix. The position of the appendix shows a high variation in children thus the pain characteristic is not uniform. Laboratory tests are not reliable but ultrasonography is recommended to exclude other diseases and to try to confirm the diagnoses. With the technique of "Graded compression Sonography" the rate of non identified appendicitis has been reduced under 5%. Laparoscopy is another option. Its use just for diagnostic purposes is limited but is recommended widely for primary therapeutic treatment with laparoscopic performed appendectomy. Laparoscopy has a special advantage against conventional appendectomy in the diagnostic of recurrent unspecific abdominal pain in children and in cases with interval appendectomy. Finally in pseudoappendicitis and pseudoperitonitis in children with immunvasculitis and other extraabdominal diseases. Letality of the acute appendicitis is zero.