Meckel's Masquerade: Penetrating the Disguise.

Children with abdominal pain are frequently seen in emergency departments. Physicians and parents worry about appendicitis; physicians are also concerned about intussusception and bowel obstruction in patients with previous surgical procedures. Sometimes the patient is ill, and the diagnosis is elusive. In a 6-month period at our pediatric emergency department with an annual census of 57,400 patients, we cared for 4 patients who presented with abdominal pain due to complications of Meckel's diverticulum. None presented with painless rectal bleeding, the complication of which physicians are most aware. We are reporting these patients to raise awareness of Meckel's diverticulum as a cause of acute abdomen in children. Meckel's diverticulum may masquerade as appendicitis, an abdominal mass, intussusception, or a complication of severe constipation.