Evaluation of the Causes of Perianal Abscess in Childhood

Objective: Perianal abscesses are common disorders of childhood. Predisposing conditions like immunodeficiency syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease should be investigated especially in older children. In infants younger than six months of age, the presence of a congenital anomaly such as perianal fistula should be ruled out. In the present study, it was aimed to evaluate the clinical and laboratory findings of perianal abscesses in childhood. Material and Methods: The medical records of patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of perianal abscesses in the pediatric infection disease department between December 2009 and December 2017 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: There were 35 patients diagnosed with perianal abscesses, of whom 30 (85.7%) were males and five (14.3%) were females. Age distributions ranged from 2 to 156 months and mean patient age was 25.88 +/- 34.37 months. Eighteen (51.4%) patients were younger than one year of age. Twenty-two (62.9%) patients did not have any predisposing conditions. Five (14.3%) patients had perianal fistula, 4 (11.4%) patients had immunodeficiency, 3 (8.6%) patients had inflammatory bowel disease and 1 (2.9%) patient had hemangioma. Surgical drainage was performed in 9 (54.3%) patients, 12 (34.3%) patients did not have any invasive procedures, and 4 (11.4%) patients developed spontaneous drainage. Fourteen (40%) patients had a history of recurrence. The patients were divided into two groups according to recurrence. Male gender, older age, fever at admission, prolonged hospitalization, lymphocytosis and increased serum immunoglobulin levels were significantly associated with the recurrence of the perianal abscess. Conclusion: Although, perianal abscesses are common in children, data in the management and treatment of the disease are limited. Children with recurrent perianal abscess should be examined in detail and risk factors be identified.