Due to the various presentations of gastrointestinal tract duplications (GTD), diagnosing and management for this disease might be varied and difficult. We intend to improve the experiences for these difficult, in terms of the clinical presentations, diagnostic investigations, management. We reviewed recent literature and retrospectively analyzed 72 pediatric patients with enteric duplication. Diagnosis was confirmed by surgery and pathological examination for imaging characteristics and clinical and pathological features. The ages of patients ranged from one month to 12.5 years. The clinical presentations of the patients included 57 cases with abdominal pain, followed with nausea or vomiting, abdominal distension, etc. All of the patients were diagnosed by ultrasonography, and most of them presented as intra-abdominal cystic masses. Four cases were diagnosed with the cysts other than GTDs, like, mesenteric cyst, chledochal cyst and abscess, and so on. Computed tomography was performed on 65 patients. X-rays and barium meal showed the outline of the cyst structure, with intestinal displacement due to the pressure from the cyst. Among the 72 cases of enteric duplication, 45 were located with ileocecal area, 41 were ileal and 8 were colonic duplications. Enteric duplication is very rare in children and is prone to misdiagnosis. The preoperative diagnosis of enteric duplication can be improved through comprehensive analysis of various imaging exams and closely related clinical presentations.

Background: For children with acute appendicitis (AA), a clear diagnosis is a challenge. The purpose of this study is to explore whether inflammatory markers in the blood combined with symptom duration are helpful in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and in predicting the severity of acute appendicitis.Methods: All the selected patients underwent appendectomy between November 10, 2011 and November 15, 2019, in whom preoperative WBCC, CRP, and NE% had been measured in a short time. All patients were divided into two groups: uncomplicated AA and complicated AA, postoperatively.Results: For our standards, 813 patients were selected, 442 of them had complicated AA. The mean [standard deviation (SD)] age for the uncomplicated AA group was 9.78 ± 2.02 years and for the complicated AA group was 9.69 ± 2.16 years (P = 0.55). Elevated WBCC, CRP, and NE% had a higher relatively sensitivity in complicated AA than uncomplicated AA especially when WBCC, CRP, and NE% were at normal levels, which had a sensitivity of 100% in uncomplicated AA, but this only applied to nine patients. CRP values were significantly different in three time groups, whether uncomplicated or complicated AA.Conclusion: The combination of WBCC, CRP, and NE% values is very sensitive for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, and when we predict complicated AA using the CRP value, we also need to consider the time of symptom onset.

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The purpose of this study was to examine modifiable factors and their impact on perioperative blood transfusion for pediatric patients with major abdominal procedures. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This is a retrospective review of 1,506 patients who underwent major abdominal surgical procedures in a tertiary medical center from January 2008 to June 2018. Clinical data about blood administration including triggers and targets for intra- or postoperative transfusion were collected and analyzed. The inappropriate transfusion (transfusion &#x3e; 8.0 g/dL of hemoglobin [Hb] trigger) and overtrans­fusion criteria (target transfusion &#x3e; 10.0 g/dL or &#x3e; 2 g/dL of target minus trigger level) were applied to examine the intraoperative factors with the intraoperative transfusion practice. Perioperative morbidity was further assessed based on the inappropriate transfusion and overtransfusion status. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Intraoperative transfusion was used in 468 (31.1%) of the 1,506 patients included in the study. Among them, 212 (45.3%) intraoperative transfusion episodes were classified as inappropriate, and 135 cases (28.8%) were confirmed as overtransfusion. On univariate analysis, inappropriate transfusions were observed more commonly among patients with younger age (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) and who underwent hepatic resection (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) or intestinal resection (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). Overtransfusion was also associated with elevated trigger of 8.0 g/dL Hb (<i>p</i> = 0.006) and younger age (<i>p</i> = 0.003). No perioperative complications were associated with inappropriate transfusions and overtransfusion under multivariate analysis. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Overtransfusion was common in hepatic resection and younger age, but to definitely prove this hypothesis, a prospective randomized trial needs to be performed.

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Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oral lactulose for pediatric patients with complicated appendicitis, who underwent appendectomy. Background Oral lactulose was widely used for gastrointestinal function regulation. However, clinical benefit for oral lactulose regarding its effects on recent postoperative gastrointestinal (GI) recovery and long term adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) incidence, especially in the postoperative pediatric population has not yet defined. Methods A total of 525 pediatric patients with complicated appendicitis underwent appendectomy were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 317 cases were subjected to oral lactulose management and 208 patients without, served as control. Propensity score 1:1 matching was carried out to adjust for any potential baseline variables. In 189 paired patients, clinical outcomes, including gastrointestinal recovery variables, incidence of ABSO, as well as adverse events, were compared according to the oral lactulose administration or not. Results Patients who received oral lactulose administration achieved early gastrointestinal function recovery, including, first bowel movement (Risk ratio [RR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02–2.63, p = 0.005) and first solid feeding (RR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01–1.92, p = 0.012). A lower occurrence of ASBO (OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.25–0.87; p = 0.011) and lower constipation (Odds ratio [OR], 0.25; 95% CI, 0.13–0.46; p < 0.001), were noted in patients received oral lactulose than in patients without. Furthermore, significantly fewer patients required readmission (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.32–0.99; p = 0.031) and reoperation (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.09–0.92; p = 0.022) in the patients who received oral lactulose administration. Conclusions Beneficial effects of oral lactulose administration in pediatric patients undergone appendectomy were indicated, such as accelerating gastrointestinal function recovery, reducing the postoperative incidence of ASBO and constipation, so reduced readmission and reoperation.