Children with appendicitis on the US–Mexico border have socioeconomic challenges and are best served by a freestanding children’s hospital

Introduction The US–Mexico border is medically underserved. Recent political changes may render this population even more vulnerable. We hypothesized that children on the border present with high rates of perforated appendicitis due to socioeconomic barriers. Methods A prospective survey was administered to children presenting with appendicitis in El Paso, Texas. Primary outcomes were rate of perforation and reason for diagnostic delay. We evaluated the association between demographics, potential barriers to care, risk of perforation and risk of misdiagnosis using logistic regression. p