title: Unusual cause of acute abdomen--omental infarction occurring in a child with cyclical neutropenia.
abstract: Omental infarction is a rare cause of acute abdomen in childhood. We describe a case of omental infarction mimicking acute appendicitis occurring in a child with cyclical neutropenia. Neutropenic enterocolitis, a serious cause of the acute abdomen, has been linked with cyclical neutropenia. In neutropenic patients, omental infarction when diagnosed pre-operatively can be managed conservatively with the focus on improving the neutrophil count. If after imaging the diagnosis is in doubt, there should be a low threshold for laparoscopy. The low incidence of omental infarction will continue to mean that it is a diagnosis made at operation for suspected appendicitis. In these cases, the infarcted tissue may be removed by the laparoscopic or open technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, James Paget University Hospital, Gorelston, UK. n.ventham@hotmail.co.uk
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ventham
authors.forename: Vamsi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Velchuru
authors.forename: Earl
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scout
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Studley
mesh_terms: D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000209:etiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007238:Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications*; D009852:Omentum / Q000098:blood supply*; D010507:Periodicity