Pattern of acute appendicitis in Nigerian children

SUMMARY

A review of 47 cases of acute appendicitis in children seen at the Ife University Teaching Hospital over a 7-year period (1980–86) is presented. Over this period the disease was responsible for 0·43% of all paediatric admissions and 18% of all paediatric abdominal emergencies. The clinical features were similar to those in other populations, but in this series there was a tendency towards late presentation with complications which caused significant post-operative morbidity. However, there was only one death.