Intestinal ischamemia in a child due to polyarteritis nodosa: a case report.
Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare type of childhood vasculitis. We report the case of a 10-year-old boy who was referred to our hospital following an appendicectomy with fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, weight loss, joint pains and skin rash. Shortly after admission, he developed peritonitis, and an emergency laparotomy revealed ischaemia of the jejunum which required partial resection. Histologic examination of the resected bowel showed features consistent with PAN. He was treated with steroids and cyclophosphamide. Nineteen months later, he is asymptomatic and thriving. PAN should be included in the differential diagnosis if a child with constitutional symptoms also has gastrointestinal complaints or develops an acute abdomen.
Crankson
Stanley J
SJ
Department of Surgery, King Abdulaziz Medical City-Riyadh, King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. cranksons@yahoo.com
Oda
Omar
O
Al-Zaben
Abdullah A
AA
Al Suwairi
Wafa
W
Makanjoula
Dorothy
D
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D007579:Jejunal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D007583:Jejunum / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D010488:Polyarteritis Nodosa / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy