Perforated appendicitis versus non-perforated appendicitis

Of 156 patients with acute appendicitis, seen during 24 months, 21 had perforated. Age over 30 years especially in males, duration of symptoms over 48 hours, pulse rate on admission exceeding 1007 minute, generalised abdominal tenderness, leucocyte count in excess of 10,000 mm3 and a neutrophilia in excess of 70 percent, characterized patients with appendicular perforation. The rate of complications was five times greater and the mean hospital stay nearly twice as much in the perforated group