@article{3083487,
    title = "Mesenteric lymphadenopathy as a cause of abdominal pain in children with
lobar or segmental pneumonia",
    author = "Moustaki, M and Zeis, PM and Katsikari, M and Fretzayas, A and Grafakou, and O and Stabouli, S and Tsolia, M and Nicolaidou, P and Karpathios, T",
    journal = "Pediatric Pulmonology",
    year = "2003",
    volume = "35",
    number = "4",
    pages = "269-273",
    publisher = "Wiley-Liss, Inc.",
    issn = "8755-6863, 1099-0496",
    doi = "10.1002/ppul.10254",
    keywords = "mesenteric lymphadenopathy; abdominal pain; pneumonia; ultrasound",
    abstract = "We investigated whether mesenteric lymphadenopathy could be a cause of
abdominal pain in children with lobar or segmental pneumonia. The study
population consisted of 1)119 consecutive children with lobar pneumonia,
older than 4 years of age, and 2) 31 healthy controls. Demographic,
clinical, inflammatory, and radiographic data were recorded in all
patients. All study subjects underwent abdominal ultrasound, focusing on
the identification of mesenteric lymphadenopathy. One month later, a
follow-up ultrasound was performed in patients with enlarged mesenteric
lymph nodes at the initial examination. Forty patients complaining of
abdominal pain were included in group I, while the remaining 79 were in
group 2. The two groups of patients did not significantly differ
regarding their demographic, clinical (other than abdominal pain), and
radiographic indices. In contrast, enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes with
a sagittal diameter of at least 10 mm were identified significantly more
commonly in the children of group I (P = 0.001). The association of
enlarged lymph nodes with the presence of abdominal pain remained
significant when the data were analyzed through multiple regression
analysis (odds raio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 3-44). Enlarged
mesenteric lymph nodes were found in a significantly lower ratio of
healthy controls (3/31) compared to that observed in group I (P =
0.003). In all patients who were followed up, mesenteric lymph nodes had
either decreased or were not detectable. Our findings indicate that
mesenteric lymphadenopathy might be considered as a mechanism
responsible for the development of abdominal pain in a relatively high
percentage of children with pneumonia. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2003;
35:269-273. (C) 2003Wiley-Liss, Inc."
}