Neonatal Perforated Appendicitis Masquerading as Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Andrew Tumen; Pranit N Chotai; John Matthew Williams; Adrianne Myers-Webb; Jie Zhang; Ramesh Krishnan; James W Eubanks Iii

doi:10.21699/jns.v6i2.482

Neonatal Perforated Appendicitis Masquerading as Necrotizing Enterocolitis

J Neonatal Surg. 2017 Apr 15;6(2):39. doi: 10.21699/jns.v6i2.482. eCollection 2017 Apr-Jun.

Authors

Andrew Tumen¹, Pranit N Chotai^{1

2}, John Matthew Williams¹, Adrianne Myers-Webb¹, Jie Zhang¹, Ramesh Krishnan¹, James W Eubanks Iii¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pediatric Surgery, Le Bonehur Children's Hospital, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
² Department of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.

Abstract

A preterm neonate underwent emergent laparotomy for presumed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Intra-operatively, neonatal perforated appendicitis (NPA) was encountered. This may represent a form of NEC localized to the appendix. A high index of clinical suspicion and early laparotomy are recommended.

Keywords: Localized NEC; Necrotizing enterocolitis; Neonatal appendicitis; Neonatal perforated appendicitis.

Publication types

Case Reports