A Gut Feeling - Abstract
We present the case of a two-year-old girl with the chief complaint of fever and a limp who, after seven emergency room visits over 10 days, was ultimately diagnosed with ruptured appendicitis. This case serves an important reminder about the challenge of diagnosing appendicitis in children and reviews the common features of pediatric appendicitis, many of which are uncharacteristic for adult presentations. Key points of discussion raised by this case include the importance of the availability of ultrasounds in pediatric emergency rooms and the critical value of repeat examinations in the diagnosis of appendicitis.