Use of Barium Enema for the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis in Children

Abstract

Accurate early diagnosis is the most important in the management of patients with appendi citis. When the clinical findings are not diagnostic, a barium enema (B.E.) is a useful and harmless procedure. A series of 53 B.E.s were performed in patients of possible appendicitis to rule out other appendiceal diseases when the clinical signs and findings were not conclusive. Of these 53 patients, 36 who had shown positive B.E. findings before operation were proved to have acute appendicitis by pathological examination of the excied appendix. Thirteen patients with sufficient filling of the appendix were treated conservatively and did well. In only one patient (2.6%), B.E. was not helpfull in diagnosis. There was no complication resulting from this procedure in this series.