Neonatal Appendicitis (Part 1): A Review of 52 cases with Abdominal Manifestation

Although no age is free from the risk of appendicitis, it is extremely uncommon in newborns. Credit of describing the first neonatal case is disputed between Diess (1908) [1] and Albrecht (1905).[2] Although Lillenthal reported a survivor of scrotal appendicitis in 1908, [2] 45 years elapsed before Meigher and Lucas [1] in 1952 documented the first survivor of abdominal disease. Another 35 years passed before proving as to what Sir Zachery Cope remarked as “No age” really extends into prenatal period. Martin Glen (1986) [3] and Narasimharao et al. (1987) [4] recorded antenatal appendicitis. A further 15 years went before hearing about the first successful laparoscopic appendicectomy in neonate by Efrati et al. [5] Intrigued by the tardy progress, Athena looked for a review article to dwell more on this subject. Although Karaman et.al [2] summarized 141 cases collected over a century (1901 2000), Athena is disappointed that the entity has largely remained anecdotal and almost all the published reports are individual case reports or at the best a small series. Therefore, she decided to critically analyze the published data to solve certain unanswered questions.