Overview and diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children.

Appendicitis represents the most common abdominal surgical emergency in the pediatric age group. Despite being a relatively common condition, the diagnosis of appendicitis in children can prove to be challenging in many cases. The goal of this article is to review the predictive utility for presenting signs and symptoms, laboratory tests, and imaging studies in the diagnostic work-up of appendicitis. Furthermore, we sought to explore the predictive utility of composite measures based on multiple sources of diagnostic information, as well as the utility of clinical pathways as a means to streamline the diagnostic process.