PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - J Acheson AU - J Banerjee TI - Management of suspected appendicitis in children AID - 10.1136/adc.2009.168468 DP - 2010 Feb 01 TA - Archives of disease in childhood - Education & practice edition PG - 9--13 VI - 95 IP - 1 4099 - http://ep.bmj.com/content/95/1/9.short 4100 - http://ep.bmj.com/content/95/1/9.full SO - Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed2010 Feb 01; 95 AB - Acute appendicitis is the most important cause of abdominal pain in children and is the commonest that requires emergency surgery. Prompt diagnosis, immediate referral and expeditious surgery should be undertaken to reduce the risk of a perforated appendix. The initial presentation may be atypical or be similar to another pathological process which makes the diagnosis extremely difficult. Risk assessment forms an important part in the management of these cases. We consider the difficulties in making the diagnosis including: (A) the pitfalls of clinical examination; (B) the usefulness of laboratory testing; (C) the relevance of clinical scoring systems; and (D) the controversial issue of imaging.