title: Primary peritonitis in children.
abstract: Ten cases of primary peritonitis in children demonstrate that the usual presentation is one of rapid onset of lower abdominal pain in girls, clinically indistinguishable from acute appendicitis. Recovery after appendectomy is rapid. Fewer cases have positive peritoneal cultures or associated illnesses than in historical descriptions. Contemporary primary peritonitis follows a more benign course than in the past.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies