An unusual cause of acute abdominal pain in a child: An inverted meckel diverticulum: Report of a case

Abstract

Inverted Meckel diverticulum has been reported as a lead point for intussusception in children. However all cases of isolated inversion of a Meckel diverticulum have involved adults in whom the diagnosis was clinically unexpected. We describe the sonographic appearance of isolated inversion of Meckel diverticulum in a 3-year-old boy with acute abdominal symptoms.

A Pediatric Case of Inverted Meckel’s Diverticulum Presenting with Cyclic Vomiting-like Symptoms: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…In total, 94 related articles were retrieved. There were 29 articles for 74 adult [ 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] and 9 pediatric (age < 18 years) [ 2 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ] cases including the present case] that reported the course of each case in detail. These included 55 male and 28 female patients with onset ages of 2 to 78 years.…”

A common case of gastroenteritis in a child followed by an axial torsion of Meckel diverticulum: a rare and unusual complication

“…It is the most common congenital abnormality of the gastrointestinal tract with a prevalence of 1–2% of the population 4. It is usually located on the antimesenteric border of the ileum within approximately 20–60 cm of the ileocecal valve.…”

“…The complications include haemorrhage (25–50%), inflammation (13–30%) and intestinal obstruction (16%) 1 8. Occasionally, inversion of Meckel's diverticulum into the lumen of the bowel can cause intussusception, ischaemia and infarction 4. When a Meckel's diverticulum is incidentally found at laparoscopy there are no predictive factors for the development of the above described complications.…”

“…Axial torsion and gangrene of Meckel's diverticulum is the rarest complication that has been reported, particularly in children 4 6 10. It was described in only five adults and two children in the past 35 years.…”

“…It was described in only five adults and two children in the past 35 years. 11 4 The aetiology of axial torsion remains unclear. In some cases, it seems to be caused by the presence of a fibrous cord, a remain of omphalomesenteric arteries, that connect the diverticulum to the umbilicus.…”