Is mesenteric lymphadenopathy serious?

Mesenteric lymphadenopathy is a disease that mainly occurs in children. It is caused by viral infection and has a great impact on the development of children. It is recommended that mothers take their children for treatment in time. For a disease like mesenteric lymphadenopathy, we should have a certain understanding of its symptoms in our lives so that we can treat this pediatric disease in time.

Mesenteric lymph node (abdominal lymph node) inflammation is common in children under 7 years old and is caused by Coxsackie B virus or other viruses. Cough and swollen tonsils and submandibular lymph nodes may also occur. The excitation foci of tonsils and submandibular lymph nodes in the brain are very close to the excitation foci of mesenteric lymph nodes in the brain. According to the theory of dominant foci, the central excitation caused by inflammation of tonsils and submandibular lymph nodes will inevitably affect the excitation foci of mesenteric lymph nodes, reflexively causing "acute nonspecific mesenteric lymphadenitis". This is only a hypothesis. Normal anti-inflammatory, treatment of tonsillitis, and effective for mesenteric lymphadenitis.

Regarding mesenteric lymphadenopathy in children, it is generally believed to be caused by bloodstream infection of streptococci, and some believe it is related to intestinal inflammation and parasitic diseases. It is more common in the terminal ileum. The lymph nodes are multiple and congested and swollen. There may be a small amount of inflammatory exudate in the abdominal cavity. Microscopically, the lymphatic sinuses were dilated and neutrophils entered the lymphatic sinuses from small blood vessels and phagocytosed bacteria. Some white blood cells may degenerate and collapse as a result, forming cell fragments or denatured substances. The blood vessels in the lymph nodes also dilate and become congested, the germinal centers proliferate, and the sinus cells and immunoblasts proliferate.

Acute mesenteric lymphadenitis is more common in children under 7 years old. Before the onset of the disease, there are often prodromal symptoms such as sore throat, fever, fatigue and discomfort, followed by umbilical and right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes diarrhea or constipation. This disease course is exactly the opposite of acute appendicitis, which is characterized by abdominal pain followed by fever, and the body temperature rises sharply in the early stage of the disease. During physical examination, there may be tenderness in the navel and right lower abdomen, which is relatively widespread and the tenderness point is not fixed. Because children's abdominal muscles are underdeveloped, abdominal muscle tension may not be obvious. Sometimes small nodular masses can be palpated. White blood cell count is elevated or normal. If it is caused by streptococci, abdominal puncture can draw out a thinner grass-green fluid, and smears can find Gram-positive cocci.

If the medical history is typical, the abdominal tenderness is widespread, and there is no abdominal muscle tension, non-surgical treatment can be performed first, intravenous antibiotics, or heat-clearing and detoxifying agents can be used. The changes in abdominal signs should be closely observed. If the symptoms worsen and are difficult to differentiate from diseases such as appendicitis and Meckel's diverticulitis, laparotomy and appendectomy should still be performed.

Regarding the analysis of the severity of mesenteric lymphadenopathy introduced in the article, we all know that when children suffer from this disease, it has a relatively large impact on organs such as the throat and lymph nodes, and often causes vomiting and fever in patients. I hope you can receive timely treatment to avoid further aggravation of the disease.