ACUTE APPENDICITIS IN CHILDHOOD

In 1939 Hudson and Chamberlain 1 published statistics on 848 cases of appendicitis in patients treated at The Children's Hospital, Boston, during the ten year period preceding Jan. 1, 1939. Since that time there has been a significant decrease in the mortality of appendicitis in this clinic, and it is the purpose of the present study to evaluate the factors which are responsible for more successful therapy and to present an analysis of several aspects of the disease in childhood. INCIDENCE During the five and a half year period from Jan. 1, 1939 to June 30, 1944, there have been 506 children with acute appendicitis treated in this hospital. The various types encountered are listed in table 1. We have included in this series only proved cases of acute appendicitis with and without complication and have purposefully omitted all cases of appendectomy performed for other reasons. Tabulation of sex incidence