title: Ominous findings in toddlers with increasing abdominal girth: two unusual cases and a review of the clinical evaluation.
abstract: A preverbal toddler who presents with a distended abdomen can pose a difficult clinical problem. The differential diagnosis is extremely broad and consists of etiologies ranging from the benign to the life threatening. In this case report, we present 2 unusual life-threatening cases of abdominal distention in well-appearing toddlers and a review of the clinical evaluation for the emergency practitioner.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235, USA. Floyd.ota@childrens.com
authors.forename: Floyd S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: R Todd
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Maxson
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Abramo
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000473:pathology; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006465:Hemoperitoneum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019152:Paracentesis; D014518:Ureterocele / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014551:Urinary Tract / Q000002:abnormalities*; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000293:injuries*