scholarly journals Evaluation of conservative management in uncomplicated acute appendicitis

Author(s):  
Vignesh M. ◽  
Rajkumar Chejara ◽  
S. V Arya ◽  
Ankit Bhatia ◽  
Rohit Chaudhary ◽  
...  

Background: Appendectomy has been the treatment for acute appendicitis for years based on the understanding that acute appendicitis always leads to perforation and peritonitis. However, there is growing evidence that a significant proportion of patients can be successfully managed with conservative treatment without developing gangrene or perforation. Conservative treatment avoids discomfort, surgery-related morbidities and minimizes treatment cost.Methods: 60 patients taken up for conservative management were evaluated and followed up for 6 months. Study patients received intravenous antibiotics for 2 days. Repeated clinical and TLC monitoring were done. In patients whose clinical condition did not improve, appendectomy was performed. Follow-up at 10 days, 30 days, 3 months and 6 months were carried out to assess recurrence in conservatively managed patients.Results: In this study, the mean age was 25.65 years with a standard deviation of ±8.96 years. The incidence of uncomplicated appendicitis was 63.3% in males and 36.7% in females. Mean Alvarado score was 7.75 with a standard deviation of ±1.20. Failure of conservative management (conversion to appendectomy) was observed in 11.7% of patients and 4 patients (6.6%) had recurrence within 6 months. The overall treatment efficacy was 81.7%.Conclusions: In many cases, first attack of uncomplicated acute appendicitis can be treated successfully by conservative management. Treatment failure on primary admission as well as short-term recurrence up to six months after conservative treatment is low and acceptable. Incidence of complications like perforation and abscess formation are also statistically low.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1190
Author(s):  
Bhanu Bharath Naik

Background: Acute appendicitis is the most common clinical entity which is treated surgically by appendectomy. In recent years acute uncomplicated appendicitis can also be managed non surgically with antibiotic therapy. Aim and Objective was to assess the outcome of conservative treatment in the management of acute appendicitis.Methods: All patients who were diagnosed as acute appendicitis radiologically were enrolled into the study considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Modified Alvarado score (MAS) was calculated based on clinical symptoms, signs and laboratory investigations. Injection ceftriaxone and injection metronidazole was given for 48-72 hours. Patients who responded for i.v. antibiotics were switched to tablet ciprofloxacin and tablet metronidazole for 7 days and followed for 6 months. Patients who didn’t respond to conservative treatment or had recurrence were classified as treatment failure/recurrence.Results: Totally 100 patients were enrolled in the study, 43 males and 57 females with a ratio of 1:1.32. Majority were in age group of 21-30. Ultrasound was performed in 91 patients, CT scan in 9 patients. 28 patients had MAS between 4-6 and 72 had between 7-9. 82 patients were successfully managed conservatively. 12 patients had failure of conservative treatment and 6 patients had recurrence.Conclusions: Success rate of conservative treatment in patients with MAS 4-6 was more than those with MAS 7-9 in this study. Complicated acute appendicitis should be managed surgically and uncomplicated acute appendicitis can be managed by conservative treatment provided they are strictly followed every month for 6 months to detect recurrences.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil Kumar Maini ◽  
Neeraj Kumar Jain ◽  
Manjari Goel Jain ◽  
Vicky Khobragade

Background: Right lower abdominal pain management in children is a challenging task for the surgeon. Most of the time right lower abdominal pain ends up in acute appendicitis. For long time appendicetomy was the treatment of choice. However surgical intervention has its own disadvantages such as pain, scarring, adhesions, hernia development and venous thrombosis disease. Anxiety and fear of surgery were also two difficulties in obtaining consent for surgery. Parents often request and insist for medical management. Their unwillingness for surgical intervention was the most important reason for medical management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis.Methods: Our prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of General Surgery, R.K.D.F. Medical College and Research Centre, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India during period of January 2014 to January 2016 and follow up was done till December 2016. Our target group was children under 16 years. A total of 92 children with complaint of right lower abdominal pain attended the hospital for treatment. Routine investigations including ultrasonography of abdomen were performed for all the patients. Out of 92 patients diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made in 74 patients, Surgery was performed in 32 patients, while remaining 42 patients were treated conservatively and the results were analyzed.Results: In this study of 92 patients of pain in right iliac fossa below 16 years, 74 (80.43%) were diagnosed as acute appendicitis. 32 (43.24%) Patients were operated earlier. 42 (56.75%) Patient were treated conservatively. Out of 42 patients, 12 (16.21%) patients were operated within 1 year, 30 (40.54%) Patients didn’t require any surgical intervention during 1 year follow up. In present study, significant role of antibiotic was found in conservative management of acute appendicitis in children. So it can be concluded that conservative management of acute appendicitis in children can be attempted under observation.Conclusions: Antibiotics are both effective and safe as primary treatment for patients with uncomplicated acute appendicitis. Initial antibiotic treatment merits consideration as a primary treatment option for early uncomplicated appendicitis. Appendicectomy should be done but conservative management of acute appendicitis in children can be attempted under observation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Falih Noori Alsubsiee ◽  
Ahmed Falih Noori Alsubsiee

Background. Although appendicectomy is still the classical and standard treatment for acute appendicitis, initial conservative antibiotic only treatment for simple uncomplicated cases has been proposed and tried as a feasible and effective approach. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and outcomes of antibiotics treatment for acute simple uncomplicated appendicitis. Methods. This is a prospective controlled nonrandomized study in which a total of 156 patients whose ages range from 16 to 54 years presenting with clinical diagnosis of acute uncomplicated appendicitis were assigned for conservative antibiotics treatment, which consists of ceftriaxone I gram twice daily and metronidazole infusions, 500 mg in 100 ml, 3 times daily for 48 to 72 hours to be converted on oral antibiotics after clinical improvement for 5 to 7 days. Patients who failed to initial conservative treatment and those who had recurring symptoms of appendicitis were presented for appendectomy. Results. Antibiotic treatment was successful and feasible in 138 (88.5%) patients. Progression of the signs and symptoms despite full medical treatment was observed in 11 (7%) patients during the same admission. Further 7 (4.5%) patients showed recurrence of the symptoms during follow-up period of 6–12 months after successful initial conservative treatment and also proceeded for appendicectomy. Conclusion. Nonoperative antibiotic treatment of acute simple appendicitis is safe, feasible, and effective for properly selected cases, thus avoiding unnecessary surgery with its possible complications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. S. Gedam ◽  
Ajit Gujela ◽  
Prasad Y. Bansod ◽  
Murtaza Akhtar

Background: Management of acute appendicitis with antibiotics only, without surgery is currently evaluated. Non-operative management of uncomplicated acute diverticulitis and salpingitis has been well established but the non-operative management of acute appendicitis remains controversial. Growing evidence indicates that patients with acute uncomplicated appendicitis can be treated safely with an antibiotics- first approach.Methods: A tertiary care hospital based longitudinal study with duration of 26 month. Patients with clinical and radiological feature of acute appendicitis presenting within 48 hours of initiation of abdominal pain with Modified Alvarado Score ≥5 included. Various demographic, clinico-pathological, radiological factors were studied.Results: 71 patients evaluated, mean age of 30.45±9.71 years. Tenderness in RIF was the commonest finding followed by Fever and rebound tenderness. Leucocytosis seen in 74.65% Modified Alvarado score of 5-6 was present in 18.32% whereas 7-9 was present in 81.68% patients. USG was suggestive of appendicitis in 84.50% patients. Conservative treatment was successful in 74.65% patients with no treatment failure. 25.35% patients, conservative treatment failed. Overall recurrence was seen in 13.11% cases that were successfully managed during primary admission.Conclusions: Majority of cases of first attack of uncomplicated acute appendicitis can be treated successfully by conservative treatment. However, conservative treatment requires monitoring and repeated re-evaluation to identify failure which needs to be treated promptly by surgery. Treatment failure on primary admission as well as the short- term recurrence after conservative treatment is low and acceptable. The outcome of conservative treatment does not depend on Modified Alvarado Score.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 325-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Kelly ◽  
Asif Khan ◽  
Jameel ur Rehman ◽  
Ronan M. Waldron ◽  
Waqar Khan ◽  
...  

Introduction: The management approach for acute appendicitis has been challenged in recent years, with numerous randomized controlled trials demonstrating that antibiotics/conservative management is an efficacious treatment, with lower complication rates. Methods: A national survey of all consultant general surgeons evaluating their practices was performed. Reasons for changed practices, choice of antibiotics and follow-up investigations were evaluated. In addition, the role of interval appendicectomy and conservative management in the pediatric population was also assessed. Results: The response rate for this survey was 74.7% (n = 74/99). Over one-fifth (n = 17, 22.9%) routinely treat acute appendicitis conservatively, while another 14.8% (n = 11) consider this approach in selected cases. Main reasons for modified practices included the presence of inflammatory phlegmon (75%), delayed presentation (64%), and recent evidence-based medicine developments (46%). Co-amoxiclav/clavulanic acid was the most popular antibiotic for conservative management (53%). Alternatively, combinations of antibiotics were also utilized. One-third felt interval appendicectomy was warranted, while one-fifth supported conservative management in the paediatric setting. The overwhelming majority (>95%) advocate follow-up colonoscopy ± computed tomography in any patient aged >40 years managed conservatively. Conclusion: Considerable variation in management of uncomplicated appendicitis remains in Ireland despite growing evidence suggesting that the non-operative approach is safe. Reasons for adopting a conservative management practice have been identified and reflect the expanding literature on this subject.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa Deiters ◽  
Andrew Drozd ◽  
Priti Parikh ◽  
Ronald Markert ◽  
Joon K. Shim

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Alvarado score is beneficial in identifying complicated versus uncomplicated acute appendicitis in elderly patients. A retrospective review was conducted of patients aged 65 years and older who underwent an appendectomy for pathologically confirmed appendicitis. A review of 310 operative reports and patient charts from October 2012 to December 2016 yielded 216 patients. Patients were grouped based on complicated versus uncomplicated appendicitis. One hundred ten patients had complicated appendicitis, whereas 106 patients were uncomplicated. Among the complicated appendicitis patients, 76.4 per cent were perforated, 38.2 per cent were gangrenous, and 34.5 per cent had an abscess. The complicated appendicitis group had a higher mean duration of symptoms (2.70 ± 3.41 days vs 2.09 ± 3.08 days, P = 0.011). Appendectomies that were open or converted to open were more likely to be associated with complicated appendicitis (75% vs 48%, P = 0.012). Mean hospital length of stay was greater in those with complicated appendicitis (5.34 ± 5.56 days vs 3.12 ± 2.86 days, P < 0.001). The two groups did not differ on mean Alvarado score (complicated = 6.96 ± 1.99 vs uncomplicated = 6.72 ± 1.85, P = 0.36). Only 62.5 per cent of patients had an Alvarado score that met the cutoff for acute appendicitis. The Alvarado score was not able to differentiate complicated from uncomplicated appendicitis in elderly patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7_suppl4) ◽  
pp. 2325967121S0021
Author(s):  
Mauricio Drummond ◽  
Caroline Ayinon ◽  
Albert Lin ◽  
Robin Dunn

Objectives: Calcific tendinitis of the shoulder is a painful condition characterized by the presence of calcium deposits within the tendons of the rotator cuff (RTC) that accounts for up to 7% of cases of shoulder pain1. The most common conservative treatments typically include physical therapy (PT), corticosteroid injection (CSI), or ultrasound-guided aspiration (USA). When conservative management fails, the patient may require arthroscopic surgery to remove the calcium with concomitant rotator cuff repair. The purpose of this study was to characterize the failure rates, defined as the need for surgery, of each of these three methods of conservative treatment, as well as to compare post-operative improvement in patient-reported outcomes (PROs) – including subjective shoulder values (SSV) and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores – based on the type of pre-operative conservative intervention provided. A secondary aim was to compare post-operative range of motion (ROM) outcomes between groups that failed conservative management. We hypothesized that all preoperative conservative treatments would have equivalent success rates, PROs, and ROM. Bosworth B. Calcium deposits in the shoulder and subacromial bursitis: a survey of 12122 shoulders. JAMA. 1941;116(22):2477-2489. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who were diagnosed with calcific tendinitis at our institution treated among 3 fellowship trained orthopedic surgeons between 2009 and 2019 was performed. VAS, SSV, and ROM in forward flexion (FF) and external rotation (ER) was abstracted from the medical records. Scores were recorded at the initial presentation as well as final post-operative follow-up visit for those who underwent surgery. The conservative treatment method utilized by each patient was recorded and included PT, CSI, or USA. Failure of conservative management was defined as eventual progression to surgical intervention. Statistical analysis included chi-square, independent t test and ANOVA. Descriptive statistics were used to report data. A p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: 239 patients diagnosed with calcific tendinitis were identified in the study period with mean age of 54 years and follow up of at least 6 months. In all, 206 (86.2%) patients underwent a method of conservative treatment. Of these patients, 71/239 (29.7%) underwent PT, 67/239 (28%) attempted CSI, and 68/239 (28.5%) underwent USA. The overall failure rate across all treatment groups was 29.1%, with injections yielding the highest success rate of 54/67 (80.6%). Physical therapy saw the highest failure rate, with 26/71 (36.7%) proceeding to surgical intervention. Patients undergoing physical therapy were statistically more likely to require surgery compared to those undergoing corticosteroid injection (RR 1.88, p= 0.024). Of all 93 patients who underwent surgery, VAS, SSV, ROM improved significantly in all groups. On average, VAS decreased by 4.02 points (6.3 to 2.3), SSV increased by 33 points (51 to 84), FF improved by 13.8º, and ER improved 8.4º between the pre- and post-operative visits (p<0.05). The 33 patients who did not attempt a conservative pre-operative treatment demonstrated the largest post-operative improvement in VAS (-6.00), which was significantly greater than those who previously attempted PT (-3.33, p<0.05). There was a trend towards greater improvement in SSV in the pre-operative PT group (45 to 81) compared to others, but this did not reach statistical significance (p=0.47). Range of motion was not significantly affected by the method of pre-operative conservative intervention. Conclusions: Conservative treatment in the form of physical therapy, corticosteroid injection, and ultrasound-guided aspiration is largely successful in managing calcific tendinitis of the shoulder. Of these, PT demonstrated the highest rate of failure in terms of requiring surgical management. PRO improvement varied among the conservative modalities used, however patients who did not attempt conservative management experienced the greatest improvements following surgery. If surgery is necessary following failed conservative treatment, excellent outcomes can be expected with significant improvements in ROM and PROs. This information should be considered by the surgeon when deciding whether to recommend conservative treatment for the management of calcific tendinitis, as well as which specific method to employ.


2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Davies ◽  
A Peckham-Cooper ◽  
A Sverrisdottir

Acute appendicitis is a common surgical presentation for which surgical intervention, an appendicectomy, has remained a largely unchallenged primary treatment modality. Traditionally, it has been felt that the pathophysiological progressive nature of appendicitis ultimately leads to perforation. A number of recent studies, however, suggest that the process of appendiceal inflammation may follow a more remitting nature with evidence indicating spontaneous resolution. It is hypothesised that the treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis may therefore be amenable to conservative management with antibiotics. This article aims to highlight some of the issues and challenges relating to the conservative management of acute appendicitis and further demonstrates potential diagnostic and treatment difficulties involved in managing the more unfamiliar condition of recurrent appendicitis.


JAMA Surgery ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 155 (4) ◽  
pp. 283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suvi Sippola ◽  
Jussi Haijanen ◽  
Lauri Viinikainen ◽  
Juha Grönroos ◽  
Hannu Paajanen ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 144-148
Author(s):  
Radhakrishnan Ganesh ◽  
James Lucocq ◽  
Neville Ogbonnia Ekpete ◽  
Noor Ul Ain ◽  
Su Kwan Lim ◽  
...  

Background and aim COVID-19 pandemic has predisposed patients undergoing surgery to post-operative infection and resultant complications. Appendicitis is frequently managed by appendicectomy. After the onset of the pandemic, selected cases of appendicitis were managed with antibiotics which is a recognised treatment option. Our objective was to compare the management of appendicitis and post-operative outcomes between pre- and post-COVID-19. Methods Ninety-six patients were identified from before the onset of the pandemic (November 2019) to after the onset of the pandemic (May 2020). Data were collected retrospectively from electronic records including demographics, investigations, treatment, duration of inpatient stay, complications, readmissions and compared between pre- and post-COVID-19 groups. Results One hundred percent underwent surgical treatment before the onset of pandemic, compared with 56.3% from the onset of the pandemic. A greater percentage of patients were investigated with imaging post-COVID-19 (100% versus 60.9%; p < 0.00001). There was no significant difference in the outcomes between the two groups. Conclusion CT/MRI scan was preferred to laparoscopy in diagnosing appendicitis and conservative management of uncomplicated appendicitis was common practice after the onset of pandemic. Health boards can adapt their management of surgical conditions during pandemics without adverse short-term consequences. Long term follow-up of this cohort will identify patients suitable for conservative management.


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