Non Operative Treatment for Acute Appendicitis

Summary

Case control studies that randomly assign patients to either surgical or non-surgical treatment yield a relapse rate of approximately 14% at one year. It would be useful to know the relapse rate of patients who have, instead, been selected for a given treatment based on a thorough clinical evaluation, including physical examination and laboratory results (all characteristics forming the Alvarado Score) as well as radiological exams if needed or deemed helpful. If this clinical evaluation is useful,the investigators would expect patient selection to be better than chance, and relapse rate lower than 14%. Once the investigators have established the utility of this evaluation, the investigators can begin to identify those components that have predictive value (such as blood chemistry analysis, or CT findings). This is the first step toward developing an accurate diagnostic-therapeutic algorithm which will avoid the risks and costs of needless surgery. This will be a single-cohort prospective interventional study. It will not interfere with the usual procedures, consisting of clinical examination in the Emergency Department (ED) and execution of the following exams at the physician's discretion: complete blood count with differential, C reactive protein, abdominal ultrasound, abdominal CT. Patients admitted to Emergency Department with Lower Abdominal and suspicion of Acute Appendicitis not needing immediate surgery, are requested by informed consent to undergo observation and non operative treatment with antibiotic therapy (Amoxicillin and Clavulanic Acid). The patients by protocol should not have received any previous antibiotic treatment during the same clinical episode. Patients not undergoing surgery will be physically examined 5 days later. During this follow-up visit, the patient will be given information about the study, will be invited to participate, and will be asked to sign an informed consent form. If the patient is under the age of 18 years, consent will be obtained from a parent or other legal guardian. Telephone (or email) follow-ups will be conducted at 15 days, 6 months, and 12 months (see attached schedule) to monitor the state of the illness.

Timeline

Start

2010-01

Primary completion

2011-01

Completion

2011-02

Publications

• Background Malik AA, Bari SU. Conservative management of acute appendicitis. J Gastrointest Surg. 2009 May;13(5):966-70. doi: 10.1007/s11605-009-0835-5. Epub 2009 Mar 10.
• Background Deutsch AA, Shani N, Reiss R. Are some some appendectomies unnecessary? An analysis of 319 white appendices. J R Coll Surg Edinb. 1983 Jan;28(1):35-40. No abstract available.
• Background Pieper R, Kager L, Nasman P. Acute appendicitis: a clinical study of 1018 cases of emergency appendectomy. Acta Chir Scand. 1982;148(1):51-62. No abstract available.
• Background Styrud J, Eriksson S, Nilsson I, Ahlberg G, Haapaniemi S, Neovius G, Rex L, Badume I, Granstrom L. Appendectomy versus antibiotic treatment in acute appendicitis. a prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial. World J Surg. 2006 Jun;30(6):1033-7. doi: 10.1007/s00268-005-0304-6.
• Background Eriksson S, Granstrom L. Randomized controlled trial of appendicectomy versus antibiotic therapy for acute appendicitis. Br J Surg. 1995 Feb;82(2):166-9. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800820207.
• Background Hansson J, Korner U, Khorram-Manesh A, Solberg A, Lundholm K. Randomized clinical trial of antibiotic therapy versus appendicectomy as primary treatment of acute appendicitis in unselected patients. Br J Surg. 2009 May;96(5):473-81. doi: 10.1002/bjs.6482.
• Di Saverio S, Sibilio A, Giorgini E, Biscardi A, Villani S, Coccolini F, Smerieri N, Pisano M, Ansaloni L, Sartelli M, Catena F, Tugnoli G. The NOTA Study (Non Operative Treatment for Acute Appendicitis): prospective study on the efficacy and safety of antibiotics (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid) for treating patients with right lower quadrant abdominal pain and long-term follow-up of conservatively treated suspected appendicitis. Ann Surg. 2014 Jul;260(1):109-17. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000000560.
• Tugnoli G, Giorgini E, Biscardi A, Villani S, Clemente N, Senatore G, Filicori F, Antonacci N, Baldoni F, De Werra C, Di Saverio S. The NOTA study: non-operative treatment for acute appendicitis: prospective study on the efficacy and safety of antibiotic treatment (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid) in patients with right sided lower abdominal pain. BMJ Open. 2011 Feb 23;1(1):e000006. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2010-000006.

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