16 Dec Some Patients With Appendicitis Can Be Managed Without Surgery

Dr. Minneci

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Peter C. Minneci, M.D., MHSc
Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Surgery
The Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Minneci: Non-operative management of uncomplicated appendicitis has been shown to safe and effective studied in several international adult trials. To be a reasonable treatment alternative to urgent appendectomy, non-operative management of appendicitis in children must have a clinically acceptable success rate with minimal harm in patients that fail and subsequently undergo appendectomy. We performed a prospective single-institution patient choice trial allowing the families of children with acute uncomplicated appendicitis to choose between urgent appendectomy or non-operative management with antibiotics alone. We enrolled 102 patients, with 65 choosing surgery and 37 choosing non-operative management with antibiotics alone. Non-operative management had an in-hospital success rate of 94%, a 30-day success rate of 89%, and a 1-year success rate of 76%. Compared to the surgery group, patients managed non-operatively reported higher quality of life scores at 30 days and had significantly fewer disability days and lower costs, with no differences in the rates of complicated appendicitis or treatment-related complications at 1 year of follow-up. With this being said, there are some cases that I have read about where doctors have failed to diagnose patients for Appendicitis even after they have complained about having a number of the symptoms associated with it. Following this, some patients have even contacted companies like Negligence Claimline to get back what they deserve. You go to doctors as they are the ones who can help you get your health back in order, but when something like this happens, it is understandable as to why some people lose faith in this system.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Minneci: Non-operative management of uncomplicated appendicitis appears to be a safe initial management strategy and is reasonable treatment alternative to present and offer to patients and their families.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Minneci: Results from additional trials are necessary to confirm the consistency of the success rate of non-operative management across other institutions in the United States in both children and adults.

Citation:

[wysija_form id=”5″]

Dr. Peter C. Minneci, M.D., MHSc (2015). Some Patients With Appendicitis Can Be Managed Without Surgery

Last Updated on December 16, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD