Acute appendicitis is the commonest emergency in childhood requiring surgery.
Appendicectomy is the treatment of choice and invariably has a low morbidity and mortality.
Intra-abdominal abscesses are an infrequent complication, particularly seen in those with perforated appendicitis. They often result in a prolonged hospital stay or a need for readmission. Until recently open drainage was regarded as the treatment of choice. Interest has increasingly been shown in ultrasound guided percutaneous, transvaginal or transrectal drainage of abscesses with laparotomy reserved for those in inaccessible sites. Few have investigated the role of antibiotic therapy alone.