This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Differential diagnosis in children

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The differential diagnosis of acute appendicitis in childhood includes:

  • mesenteric adenitis - often associated with an upper respiratory tract infection or a sore throat
  • Henoch Schonlein purpura
  • sickle-cell anaemia
  • Meckel's diverticulitis
  • cystic fibrosis
  • renal tract disorders eg urinary tract infection
  • liver and biliary tract disorders such as acute hepatitis or cholecystitis
  • pancreatitis:
    • pain often in central abdomen
    • if there is pain in the right iliac fossa then there will also be pain in the central abdomen
  • pneumonia - right lower lobe
  • constipation:
    • colicky abdominal pain and iliac fossa tenderness
    • the patient is afebrile and has a loaded colon
  • diabetes mellitus
  • infectious mononucleosis
  • haemolytic anaemia
  • torsion of right testes: if a young child presents with right sided abdominal pain then the testes should always be examined

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.