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©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 14, 2009; 15(22): 2809-2811
Published online Jun 14, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.2809
Published online Jun 14, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.2809
Meckel’s diverticulum masked by a long period of intermittent recurrent subocclusive episodes
Daniela Codrich, Jurgen Schleef, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Institute of Child Health, IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy
Andrea Taddio, Alessandro Ventura, Federico Marchetti, Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Child Health, IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the intellectual content and approved the final version; Schleef J, Ventura A and Marchetti F designed the study; Taddio A and Marchetti F performed the research; Codrich D, Taddio A and Marchetti F wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Daniela Codrich, MD, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Institute of Child Health, IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste. Via dell’Istria 65/1, 34137 Trieste, Italy. codrich@yahoo.com
Telephone: +39-40-3785217
Fax: +39-40-3785537
Received: February 19, 2009
Revised: May 11, 2009
Accepted: May 18, 2009
Published online: June 14, 2009
Revised: May 11, 2009
Accepted: May 18, 2009
Published online: June 14, 2009
Abstract
Meckel’s diverticulum (MD) is the most frequent congenital abnormality of the small bowel and it is often difficult to diagnose. It is usually asymptomatic but approximately 4% are symptomatic with complications such as bleeding, intestinal obstruction, and inflammation. The authors report a case of a 7-year-old boy with a one-year history of recurrent periumbilical colicky pain with associated alimentary vomiting, symptoms erroneously related to a cyclic vomiting syndrome but not to MD. The clinical features and the differential diagnostic methods employed for diagnosis of MD are discussed.