Severely inflamed Meckels diverticulum in infancy mimicking acute appendicitis: A diagnostic conundrum

Meckel’s diverticulum occurs around the fifth to seventh week of the embryological development. It originates when the vitelline or omphalomesenteric duct which normally connects the primitive gut to the yolk sac fails to obliterate. Meckel’s diverticulum may be symptomatic or remain silent throughout life time and incidentally discovered at autopsy. Symptoms primarily emanates from an array of complications which may include diverticulitis, haemorrhage, obstruction and intussusceptions. Diverticulitis predominately affects adults and remains exceedingly rare in infancy. However, Meckel’s diverticulitis clinical symptoms are non-specific and frequently resemble other common acute surgical and inflammatory conditions of the abdomen. The infrequency and varied symptomatology make clear-cut pre-operative diagnosis of diverticulitis extremely challenging. We hereby, report a case of a six month old infant with acute diverticulitis who present with brief history of vomiting, abdominal distension and fever. Basically, our report is aimed at forewarning clinicians to consider meckel’s diverticulitis as a differential diagnosis when assessing children present with acute abdominal pathologies.   Key words: Meckel’s diverticulum, diverticulitis, acute appendicitis, infants, children, asymptomatic diverticulum, symptomatic diverticulum, diagnosis, surgical resection.