Deaths from acute appendicitis in children continue to fall

The number of children dying from acute appendicitis in England and Wales fell from over 500 a year in the mid-1930s to about two a year in the mid-1990s. Pledger and Stringer (p 430) reviewed audits of deaths from acute appendicitis in 1963-7, 1980-4, and 1993-7. They conclude that, whereas three quarters of the reduction in the number of deaths was due to a fall in the incidence of appendicitis, the case fatality rate in hospital decreased dramatically, indicating major improvements in the management of this common and worrying disease.