title: Meckel's diverticulum in children, clinical and pathological aspects.
abstract: Meckel's diverticulum (MD) represents one of the most common malformations of the digestive tract, being a vestige of the proximal end of omphalo-mesenteric duct, which normally obliterates and atrophiates between the sixth and ninth week of intrauterine life. It is estimated that 2-4% of people are carriers of this malformation. The interest in this organ study lies in the fact that it presents its own non-specific pathology, mimicking a cecal, colon or small intestine pathology. It seems that most MD cases are asymptomatic (AS MD), being arbitrary discovered during surgeries, whereas only a small part are being symptomatic (S MD). MD may be clinically expressed at any age but it is more common in children. In our study, we evaluated a group of 44 children, aged between 0 and 16 years, diagnosed with AS MD (15 cases) or S MD (29 cases). Of the 29 S MD cases, 14 had intestinal obstruction, seven cases showed lower gastrointestinal bleeding, five cases presented acute inflammation (diverticulitis) and three cases were complicated with peritonitis; 15 cases of AS MD were discovered during surgical interventions for acute appendicitis (14 cases) or inguinal hernia (one case). Most cases of MD were recorded between 1-4-year-old and 7-16-year-old.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Romania; cgheonea@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Georgeta Ligia
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Stănescu
authors.forename: Iancu Emil
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Pleşea
authors.forename: Radu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Diaconu
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gheonea
authors.forename: Corneliu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabetay
authors.forename: Dalia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ţîştea
authors.forename: Elena Carmen
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Niculescu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008467:Meckel Diverticulum / Q000473:pathology*; D012931:Social Environment