title: Intestinal ischamemia in a child due to polyarteritis nodosa: a case report.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, King Abdulaziz Medical City-Riyadh, King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. cranksons@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Stanley J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Crankson
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Abdullah A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Zaben
authors.forename: Wafa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Al Suwairi
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Makanjoula
mesh_terms: 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