PERIANAL ABSCESS AND FISTULA IN ANO IN INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD - A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY

This is a retrospective study of 78 children with perianal abscess and /or fistula in ano presenting during a 61/2-year period. Sixty-five we re males and 13 females. Their ages at presentation ranged from 22 day s to 18 years (median 1.7 year), and the majority of males were below 2 years of ages. The 13 females all presented with perianal abscess, t he majority of which grew Staphylococcus aureus (69.2%). On follow-up, none of them developed fistula in ano. Twenty-two of the 65 males (33 .8%) presented initially with fistula in ano. The remaining 43 present ed with perianal abscess. Four of them were found to have fistula in a no at the time of incision and drainage and on follow-up, and 14 other s developed fistula in ano. Of the 40 cases of fistula in ano, all wer e males; 25 were on the right side and 9 on the left side, 5 had bilat eral fistual in ano, and 1 had two fistulas on the left side and 5 o'c lock positions. Gut-derived organisms were isolated from 88.4% of the males with perianal abscess. There appears to be a casual relationship between perianal abscess and fistual in ano.