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Background: To date, there are only sporadic reports of acute abdomen and appendicitis in children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Methods: Children 17 years of age or younger assessed in 5 Latin American countries with a diagnosis of microbiologically confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and children fulfilling MIS-C definition were included. For children with acute abdomen, we investigate main radiologic patterns, surgical treatment and intraoperative findings, outcomes. Findings: One-thousand ten children were enrolled. Forty-two children (4.2%) had a clinical diagnosis of acute abdomen. Four (9.5%) were diagnosed with MIS-C and did not undergo surgery. The remaining 38 children (3.8%) underwent abdominal surgery due to suspected appendicitis, 34 of them (89.7%) had an intraoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA), while 4 of them had nonsurgical findings. Eight children died (0.8%), none of them being diagnosed with appendicitis. Children with AA were significantly older than those without (P < 0.0001). Children with complicated appendicitis had more frequently fever (85.7% vs. 60%), intestinal distension on the abdominal radiograph (7.1% vs. none), leukocytosis (85.7% vs. 40%) and high levels of C-reactive protein (35.7% vs. 5%), although differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our study showed that children may present with acute abdomen during COVID-19 or MIS-C, which is not always associated with intraoperative findings of appendicitis, particularly in case of MIS-C. Further studies are needed to better characterize children with acute abdomen during COVID-19 or MIS-C, to avoid delay in diagnosis of surgical conditions and at the same time, minimize unnecessary surgical approaches.

Objetivo: Determinar la validez del tacto materno como método de detección de la presencia o no de fiebre en los niños. Material y métodos: Se seleccionaron por conveniencia a 269 madres y sus respectivos niños menores de 36 meses que acudieron al Servicio de Emergencias Pediátricas del Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia por cualquier molestia. Se preguntó a las madres si su niño presentaba fiebre o no (detectado por tacto), y luego se procedió con la medición de la temperatura rectal de cada niño. Resultados: Se incluyeron 269 participantes. El tacto materno para la detección de fiebre tuvo una sensibilidad de 79,3% (69,6% a 86,5%), especificidad 91,8% (86,8% a 94,9%), VPP 82,1% (72,6% a 88,9%) y VPN 90,3% (85,1% a 93,8%); el likelihood ratio positivo fue 9,62 (5,86 a 15,81) y el likelihood ratio negativo fue 0,23 (0,15 a 0,34). La correlación (índice Kappa) de fiebre o no fiebre determinada por la madre y la medida por termómetro fue de 0,72 (p:0,0000). Conclusiones: Las madres tienen una buena capacidad discriminativa en la determinación de la presencia o ausencia de fiebre mediante la palpación, por lo que la detección de fiebre por tacto materno es un eficiente método de despistaje.(Rev Med Hered 2010;21:175-179) Objective: To determine how valid is the maternal palpation as a screening method to determine the presence or absence of fever in children. Material and methods: We selected for convenience 269 mothers and their children under 36 months, who attended the Pediatric Emergency Service of Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia for any complaint. Then, we asked the mothers if their child had fever or not (detected by palpation), and then we proceeded with the rectal temperature measurement of each child. Results: We included 269 participants. The maternal palpation for the detection of fever had a sensitivity of 79% (69.6% to 86.5%), specificity 91.7% (86.8% to 94.9%), PPV 82.1% (72.6% to 88.9%) and NPV 90.3% (85.1% to 93.8%); the positive likelihood ratio was 9.62 (5.86 to 15.81) and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.23 (0.15 to 0.34). The correlation (Kappa index) of fever or absence of fever determinated for the mother and thermometer was 0.72 (p:0.0000). Conclusions: Mothers have a well accuracy in determining the presence or absence of fever by palpation, therefore detection of fever by palpation is an efficient screening method. (Rev Med Hered 2010;21:175-179)