51. Abdominal Pain and an Abdominal Mass in a Preschool Child.
- Author
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Gharib, Mohammad
- Subjects
ABDOMINAL pain ,PRESCHOOL children ,HIATAL hernia ,PHYSICAL diagnosis ,CHEST (Anatomy) ,SYMPTOMS ,DIAGNOSIS ,THERAPEUTICS - Abstract
This article presents information on a case study related to abdominal pain and an abdominal mass in a preschool child. The tenth child in the family, at age 18 months she had been hospitalized elsewhere for treatment of a lesion in her chest, which was diagnosed preoperatively as lung abscess. However, operation showed a hiatus hernia and this was presumably corrected at that time. Her postoperative course had complications, so that it was not until after 13 months of hospitalization that she was finally discharged in allegedly good condition. For the next year this child was apparently well until about three weeks before doctors saw her. At that time, episodes of abdominal pain without vomiting began to occur suddenly and spontaneously. One day, while massaging the child's abdomen for relief, the mother detected an intra-abdominal mass. Subsequently she noted that this mass became larger and more easily palpable after meals. No further information, which seemed pertinent, could be elicited in taking the past and family histories. On examination she looked well. The positive physical finding was in the abdomen, where a hard nontender mass could be felt in the left hypochondriac region, extending to the midline. This tumor was more easily detectable by superficial than by deep palpation. more...
- Published
- 1971
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