<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id>1996-3696</journal-id>
<journal-title><![CDATA[Revista del Instituto de Medicina Tropical]]></journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title><![CDATA[Rev. Inst. Med. Trop.]]></abbrev-journal-title>
<issn>1996-3696</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name><![CDATA[Instituto de Medicina Tropical]]></publisher-name>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id>S1996-36962026000100062</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.18004/imt/2026.21.1.62</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title xml:lang="es"><![CDATA[Características clínicas y epidemiológicas de los pacientes pediátricos con diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda en el Hospital de Clínicas del año 2024]]></article-title>
<article-title xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of pediatric patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis at the Hospital de Clínicas in 2024]]></article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Bogado]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Ramona]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Jiménez]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Hassel-Jimmy]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Renna]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Paola]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Duarte]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Laura]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Martínez de Cuellar]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Celia]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
</contrib-group>
<aff id="Af1">
<institution><![CDATA[,Universidad Nacional de Asunción Facultad de Ciencias Médicas Cátedra de Pediatría]]></institution>
<addr-line><![CDATA[San Lorenzo ]]></addr-line>
<country>Paraguay</country>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="pub">
<day>00</day>
<month>06</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>00</day>
<month>06</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>21</volume>
<numero>1</numero>
<fpage>62</fpage>
<lpage>69</lpage>
<copyright-statement/>
<copyright-year/>
<self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.iics.una.py/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&amp;pid=S1996-36962026000100062&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.iics.una.py/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&amp;pid=S1996-36962026000100062&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.iics.una.py/scielo.php?script=sci_pdf&amp;pid=S1996-36962026000100062&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="es"><p><![CDATA[RESUMEN Introducción: La apendicitis aguda constituye la urgencia quirúrgica abdominal más frecuente en la edad pediátrica y continúa siendo un importante desafío diagnóstico debido a la variabilidad de su presentación clínica y al riesgo de complicaciones asociadas al retraso diagnóstico. El objetivo del estudio fue describir las características clínicas y epidemiológicas de los pacientes pediátricos con diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda internados en el Hospital de Clínicas durante el año 2024. Metodología: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, transversal y retrospectivo. Se revisaron fichas clínicas de pacientes de 0 a 17 años con diagnóstico confirmado de apendicitis aguda. Se analizaron variables demográficas, clínicas, diagnósticas y terapéuticas. Los datos fueron procesados mediante estadística descriptiva. Resultados: Se incluyeron 70 pacientes. El grupo etario predominante fue el de 9 a 14 años, seguido por el de 5 a 9 años, con predominio del sexo masculino. El dolor abdominal estuvo presente en el 100% de los casos, seguido de fiebre (50%), vómitos (41,4%) y diarrea (28,6%). En el 60% de los pacientes el tiempo de evolución fue de 24 horas y el 24,3% realizó una o más consultas previas antes de la hospitalización. El diagnóstico fue clínico en todos los casos y se complementó con ecografía en el 94,3%. El esquema antibiótico más utilizado fue amoxicilina/sulbactam. La apendicitis gangrenosa fue la forma anatomopatológica más frecuente (54,3%), seguida de la flegmonosa (30%) y la congestiva (15,7%). Conclusiones: La apendicitis aguda predominó en escolares y adolescentes de sexo masculino. El dolor abdominal fue el principal signo de presentación. Se observó una elevada frecuencia de formas complicadas, particularmente apendicitis gangrenosa, lo que sugiere posibles retrasos diagnósticos. Estos hallazgos resaltan la importancia del reconocimiento temprano de los síntomas y de la optimización de las estrategias diagnósticas para reducir la progresión hacia formas avanzadas de la enfermedad.]]></p></abstract>
<abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="en"><p><![CDATA[ABSTRACT Introduction: Acute appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency in the pediatric population and remains a significant diagnostic challenge due to the variability of its clinical presentation and the risk of complications associated with delayed diagnosis. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of pediatric patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis who were hospitalized at Hospital de Clínicas during 2024. Methods: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, and retrospective study was conducted. Medical records of patients aged 0&#8211;17 years with a confirmed diagnosis of acute appendicitis were reviewed. Demographic, clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic variables were analyzed. Data were processed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 70 patients were included. The predominant age group was 9&#8211;14 years, followed by 5&#8211;9 years, with a predominance of males. Abdominal pain was present in 100% of cases, followed by fever (50%), vomiting (41.4%), and diarrhea (28.6%). The duration of symptoms before presentation was 24 hours in 60% of patients, and 24.3% had attended one or more previous medical consultations before hospitalization. Diagnosis was established clinically in all cases and was supported by ultrasonography in 94.3%. Amoxicillin/sulbactam was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic regimen. Gangrenous appendicitis was the most common histopathological subtype (54.3%), followed by phlegmonous appendicitis (30.0%) and congestive appendicitis (15.7%). Conclusions: Acute appendicitis predominantly affected school-aged children and male adolescents. Abdominal pain was the main presenting symptom. A high frequency of complicated forms, particularly gangrenous appendicitis, was observed, suggesting possible diagnostic delays. These findings highlight the importance of early symptom recognition and optimization of diagnostic strategies to reduce progression to advanced stages of the disease.]]></p></abstract>
<kwd-group>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[apendicitis aguda]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[pediatría]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[dolor abdominal]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[diagnóstico]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[cirugía pediátrica]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[acute appendicitis]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[pediatric population]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[abdominal pain]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[appendectomy]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[pediatric surgery]]></kwd>
</kwd-group>
</article-meta>
</front><back>
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