Acute Retrocaecal Appendicitis: A Case Report

BACKGROUND: Acute abdomen is a clinical diagnosis and not a definitive one. The use of ultrasound in management and diagnosis of acute abdomen is rarely invoked in our environment. The importance of definite diagnosis in surgical and medical management cannot be overemphasized OBJECTIVE: To report a case of ultrasound diagnosis of retrocaecal appendicitis. METHODS: A nine-year-old male child presented with vomiting, vague abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and fever, which led to the following differential diagnoses; acute food poison gastro-enteritis, typhoid enteritis, malaria and acute appendicitis. He was investigated along these lines. He had abdominal ultrasonography and CT scan . RESULTS: The ultrasound showed evidence of acute appendicitis. The findings on CT and surgery confirmed the diagnosis. Post-operatively, he made uneventful recovery. CONCLUSION: The use of ultrasound in acute abdomen is rarely invoked in our environment which may lead to unquantifiable consequences both in management and complications.