Simultaneous acute appendicitis and pseudomembranous colitis in a pediatric patient.

Acute appendicitis is a common cause for pediatric surgery, with an increasing incidence as this population ages. Pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) from Clostridum difficle is being seen more frequently in pediatric patients, especially after treatment with antibiotics and in those with Hirschsprung's disease. Only three prior cases of appendicitis associated with PMC have been described in the literature, and all of them occurred in adult patients. Here, we describe the first documented pediatric case: a 16-year-old female who developed acute appendicitis while concomitantly being treated for suspected pseudomembranous colitis. We concur with previous authors that there may be an association between these two pathologies; furthermore, this association may not always be clinically apparent and may be both under-diagnosed and under-reported.