Introduction @entity697 in the developing world has a markedly different disease profile to that in the developed world. Methods A retrospective study was undertaken over a four-year period at a university hospital in South Africa to review the disease spectrum and the clinical outcome of @entity697 . Results A total of 1,004 @entity1 (54% male, median age: 18 years) with intraoperatively confirmed @entity698 were reviewed. Over half (56%) were from the urban district within the city of Pietermaritzburg and the remaining 44% were from the rural health district. The median duration of illness from onset to definitive care was 4 days. Sixty per cent of appendices were perforated and associated with intra-abdominal contamination. Forty per cent of @entity1 required reoperation to control @entity1320 . Ten per cent required admission to the intensive care unit. The median overall length of hospital stay was 5 days. The mortality rate was 1%. Rural @entity1 had a longer median duration of illness (3 vs 5 days, p<0.001) as well as a more advanced disease profile associated with perforation and severe @entity1320 (19% vs 71%, p<0.001). Female @entity1 had a longer median duration of illness (3 vs 4 days, p<0.001), were more likely to present with severe @entity1320 (31% vs 54%, p<0.001) and were more likely to require a laparotomy (50% vs 73%, p<0.001). The total cost of managing the entire cohort of 1,004 @entity1 over the 4-year period was   2,060,972. Conclusions @entity697 in South Africa is a serious disease associated with significant morbidity. Late presentation is common. Female and rural @entity1 have the worst clinical outcomes, with significant cost to the health system.

XXXX in the developing world is a morbid disease.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity1320 :: ('MESH:D059413', 'Disease') :: ['intra-abdominal sepsis'] @entity697 :: ('MESH:D000208', 'Disease') :: ['Acute appendicitis', 'acute appendicitis'] @entity698 :: ('MESH:D001064', 'Disease') :: ['appendicitis']
@entity697 :: (MESH:D000208,Disease) :: ['Acute appendicitis']
