[Appendicitis in infants].

Results from cases of appendicitis occurring during the first three years of life are compared with those found in the literature. In the Departments of Surgery and Paediatrics in the University of Köln-Lindenthal 26 cases of appendicitis occurred in this age group between 1960 and 1975. The majority of cases were of the advanced forms of the disease in which the appendix was already perforated. Successful operations were performed in 25 children, but in a 12-day old infant the disease was diagnosed only at autopsy. An early diagnosis is imperative, and can only be deduced from a thorough diagnosis and compilation of symptoms.