title: Neonatal Appendicitis as a Rare Cause of Intestinal Perforation in a Preterm Neonate.
abstract: Intestinal perforation or inflammation due to appendicitis is rarely encountered in the neonatal period. The diagnosis may be delayed due to the lack of specific clinical symptoms and its rarity in this patient population. Early surgical treatment is the main treatment strategy with a good prognosis. However, delayed diagnosis may result in complications and even death. Herein, we describe a late preterm female neonate without any risk factors who had a diagnosis of perforated appendicitis at postnatal day 5. To the authors' knowledge, this case represents the earliest presentation of neonatal perforated appendicitis elucidated by prompt diagnostic laparotomy. Neonatal appendicitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of infants with abdominal clinical findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Seda Yilmaz
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Semerci
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kurnaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aslan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babayigit
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burcu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cebeci
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buyukkale
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Merih
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cetinkaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Unal
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Guvenc
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pediatrics, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozge
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kucur
mesh_terms: D001064:Appendicitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D007416:Intestinal Perforation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery