Acute appendicitis and peritonitis in children. Clinical guidelines

A new edition of clinical guidelines, developed by leading specialists of the Russian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, contains updated information on the treatment and diagnostics of the disease in compliance with the latest advances in emergency abdominal surgery. To diagnose such patients in a specialized surgical hospital, it is recommended to make ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs, as a basic mandatory noninvasive diagnostic technique, and to arrange dynamic follow-up for up to 12 hours in case of a doubtful diagnosis of acute appendicitis, which may be followed by diagnostic laparoscopy. The presented edition discusses, in details, classification of acute appendicitis and peritonitis in children, highlights its basic complicated forms: appendicular infiltrate, appendicular peritonitis and periappendicular abscess. For the first time, the authors present their material on accumulated global experience on the conservative treatment of acute appendicitis in children; they also discuss options on conducting such researches in large scientific centers in Russia after Russian Association of Pediatric Surgeons approval. The issues of preoperative preparation, postoperative management and rehabilitation of patients with severe appendicular peritonitis are discussed as well.