[Acute abdomen among children and adolescents. A retrospective study of 470 children and adolescents with acute abdominal pain].

The causes of acute abdominal pain among children admitted to a surgical department were few and the fraction that needed surgical treatment was low (37%). The surgical intervention rate was age-dependent, rising from 11.4% (zero to three years of age) to 48.9% (12-15 years of age). The increase in surgical intervention rate was due to increasing incidence of acute appendicitis while the incidence of intestinal obstruction was unchanged during childhood. No child below the age of four had appendicitis, and the rate of perforated appendix among children seven years and younger (41.7%) was significantly higher than among children eight years and older (20.4%). For acute appendicitis, the surgeons' diagnostic accuracy was 77.9% and there was no significant difference between complications after appendectomy for appendicitis and complications after negative laparotomy. The diagnostic value of biochemical measurements was limited. However, the combined evaluation of C-reactive protein measurements and leucocyte counts possibly supports further observation rather than immediate operation.