An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulum

Background. Meckel’s diverticulum, the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract, typically presents in children with gastrointestinal bleeding. Case Presentation. An 11-year-old Caucasian male presented with a 6 week history of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. He was found...

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Main Authors: Lybil Mendoza Alvarez, Dhanashree Rajderkar, Genie L. Beasley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Pediatrics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/2289520
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author Lybil Mendoza Alvarez
Dhanashree Rajderkar
Genie L. Beasley
author_facet Lybil Mendoza Alvarez
Dhanashree Rajderkar
Genie L. Beasley
author_sort Lybil Mendoza Alvarez
collection DOAJ
description Background. Meckel’s diverticulum, the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract, typically presents in children with gastrointestinal bleeding. Case Presentation. An 11-year-old Caucasian male presented with a 6 week history of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. He was found to have iron deficiency anemia, markedly elevated serum and fecal inflammatory markers, and imaging showing a contained bowel perforation. He was evaluated for infectious etiologies and later underwent extensive testing for inflammatory bowel disease. Ultimately, he was found to have a Meckel’s diverticulum, which was successfully resected and led to resolution of his gastrointestinal complaints. Conclusions. This case report highlights one of the more rare presentations in children, which is intestinal perforation. Symptoms of a Meckel’s diverticulum can overlap with those of inflammatory bowel disease, as demonstrated by our patient. Clinicians should be familiar with criteria to establish diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, and if diagnosis isn’t fully supported by testing, they should expand the differential and consider Meckel’s diverticulum.
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spelling doaj-art-46a3c73508cb4b6fa800c0adcbdbab892025-08-20T03:36:13ZengWileyCase Reports in Pediatrics2090-68112023-01-01202310.1155/2023/2289520An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s DiverticulumLybil Mendoza Alvarez0Dhanashree Rajderkar1Genie L. Beasley2University of Tennessee Health Science Center Pediatric GastroenterologyUniversity of Florida Pediatric RadiologyUniversity of Florida Pediatric GastroenterologyBackground. Meckel’s diverticulum, the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract, typically presents in children with gastrointestinal bleeding. Case Presentation. An 11-year-old Caucasian male presented with a 6 week history of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. He was found to have iron deficiency anemia, markedly elevated serum and fecal inflammatory markers, and imaging showing a contained bowel perforation. He was evaluated for infectious etiologies and later underwent extensive testing for inflammatory bowel disease. Ultimately, he was found to have a Meckel’s diverticulum, which was successfully resected and led to resolution of his gastrointestinal complaints. Conclusions. This case report highlights one of the more rare presentations in children, which is intestinal perforation. Symptoms of a Meckel’s diverticulum can overlap with those of inflammatory bowel disease, as demonstrated by our patient. Clinicians should be familiar with criteria to establish diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, and if diagnosis isn’t fully supported by testing, they should expand the differential and consider Meckel’s diverticulum.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/2289520
spellingShingle Lybil Mendoza Alvarez
Dhanashree Rajderkar
Genie L. Beasley
An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulum
Case Reports in Pediatrics
title An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulum
title_full An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulum
title_fullStr An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulum
title_full_unstemmed An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulum
title_short An Unusual Case of a Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulum
title_sort unusual case of a perforated meckel s diverticulum
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/2289520
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