Abstract
Apley's widley accepted criteria for recurrent abdominal pain are : (1) at least three episodes of pain, (2) pain severe enough to affect activities, (3) attacks occuring over a period of 3 months, and (4) no known organic cause. Fourteen children meeting Apley's criteria for recurrent right lower quadrant abdominal pain were selected from among 23 patients diagnosed with lympoid hyperplasia of the appendix based on the results a barium enema. All patients underwent appendectomy. There were 4 males and 10 females, ranging in age from 6 to 15 years old (mean, 10.5 years). Follow-up periods ranged from one month to 3 years. Eleven of 14 children (78.6%) showed no recurrence of recurrent abdominal pain during the follow-up period. Three patients continued to experience abdominal pain after appendectomy. It was determined that the continued abdominal pain in these 3 children was psychogenic, i. e., there were problems at school and at home. These 3 children received counseling from a case worker and their pain subsquently disappeared.
