Are Post-operative Antibiotics Indicated in Simple Appendicitis?
AppendicitisHypothesis: A single dose of prophylactic antibiotics is as effective as a three dose regime in preventing post-operative complications in paediatric patients with simple appendicitis. This project will compare patients 16 years and under with simple appendicitis (appendicitis that is not perforated or gangrenous). Patients will be randomly divided into two groups; Group one will receive a single pre-operative dose of antibiotics (metronidazole 12.5mg/kg up to 500mg and cefazolin 25mg/kg up to 1g) and two 'doses' of normal saline (placebo) eight and sixteen hours after the initial dose, respectively. Group two will receive one pre-operative dose of antibiotics (metronidazole 12.5mg/kg up to 500mg and cefazolin 25mg/kg up to 1g) and two post-operative doses, eight and sixteen hours after the first dose, respectively. Group allocation will be concealed from the patient and their guardian, the treating surgical team and outcome assessors (triple blinded). A process to rapidly reveal group allocation if required will be in place. The aim of the study is to determine if a single dose of antibiotics is as effective as three doses in preventing post-operative infection. This will be assessed by comparing: Duration of hospital stay from operation until discharge, based on a standardised discharge criteria. Development of wound infection or requirement of antibiotics in the six weeks post-operation Need for re-admission. Information will be collected prospectively from each patient's hospital notes and from a follow-up phone call six weeks after the operation.
Comparative Effectiveness of Intravenous v. Oral Antibiotic Therapy for Serious Bacterial Infections...
OsteomyelitisPneumonia1 moreSome children get serious bacterial infections that require hospitalization and then a long course of antibiotics to completely treat the infection. Examples of these serious infections include ruptured appendicitis (when the appendix gets inflamed and bursts, releasing bacteria into the abdomen), complicated pneumonia (when an infected pocket of pus forms either in the lung or between the lung and chest wall), and osteomyelitis (an infection of the bone). To extend the duration of antibiotic therapy after discharge from the hospital, doctors will often insert a long catheter called a PICC line in the child's vein, which can stay in the body for several weeks. However, PICC lines require a fair amount of maintenance and training of caregivers in their use, require children to restrict their activities, and can lead to serious complications, such as blood stream infections and clots. An alternative to PICC lines is extending the duration of antibiotic therapy with oral antibiotics (pills or syrup) that achieve high levels of medicine in the blood and do not have the extra work, inconvenience and risks of PICC lines. Unfortunately, there are very few high quality studies that have demonstrated that oral antibiotics are just as good as intravenous antibiotics delivered via a PICC line, and so many doctors still recommend the PICC line treatment option. Also, no studies have been done to compare the impact of these two treatment options on the quality of life of the child and their caregivers. In this proposal the investigator outline a series of projects to compare oral antibiotics vs. intravenous antibiotics delivered via a PICC line in children who require prolonged (at least 1 week) home antibiotic therapy after hospitalization for three different serious bacterial infections: ruptured appendicitis, complicated pneumonia, and osteomyelitis. To see whether oral antibiotics are just as good as PICC lines, the investigators will use data collected from over 15,000 children with one of these three infections who were hospitalized at one of 43 US children's hospitals during the years 2009-2011, and determine whether PICC lines resulted in fewer rehospitalizations for treatment failure than oral therapy.
The Feasibility Study for Real-time Remote CT Reading for Suspected Acute Appendicitis Using iPhone...
TelemedicinePurpose - The investigators aim to evaluate the feasibility of iPhone based remote control system as a real-time remote CT reading tool for suspected appendicitis under 3G network and the suboptimal illumination. Methods A total of 120 abdominal CT examinations; sixty had no findings of appendicitis, while the other sixty showed signs of acute appendicitis, were selected. The 16 raters reviewed these images using an LCD monitor of the PACS workstation and also an iPhone which was connected to the PACS workstation via remote control system, grading the probability of presence of acute appendicitis on each examination by a five Likert scale. The investigators will compare the diagnostic performance between two devices.
Explanations for Negative Laparoscopic Appendectomies and Normal Laparoscopies
AppendicitisYersinia Enterocolitica Infection2 moreTrial The aim of the study is to investigate which infectious diseases might mimic the symptoms of acute appendicitis to a degree to cause a diagnostic laparoscopy or laparoscopic appendectomy. The primary outcome is to compare the incidence of Yersinia spp. infection in patients, who undergo surgery due to suspected appendicitis, between those with and without appendicitis detected by polymerase chain reaction on rectal swabs. The secondary outcomes are comparison of the incidence of bacterial pathogens (Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Aeromonas spp.) and Enterobius vermicularis in the two groups. Rectal swabs, appendix swabs, and blood samples are collected prospectively and research biobanks will be established. Initially, the rectal samples and serology samples will be investigated, and possible biomarkers and results of the appendix swabs will be evaluated at a later time point. Ethics The trial will be conducted according to the Helsinki II Declaration after approval from both the local Health Research Ethics Committee and the Danish Data Protection Agency. An informed written consent will be collected from the participants prior to inclusion in the study. Data will be stored according to the approval from the Danish Data Protection Agency. This study is conducted in patients with suspected appendicitis. These patients are fully awake and conscious at time of inclusion. The patients included in this study will not experience any adverse effects due to their participation.
Transversus Abdominis Plane Block in Acute Appendicitis Pain Managment
Acute AppendicitisAcute Abdomen1 moreIn this study, it was aimed to investigate the analgesic efficacy of the preoperatively applied Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block in the management of acute appendicitis-related abdominal pain and post-appendectomy pain.
Diffusion MRI in Appendicitis
Acute AppendicitisIn this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging on diagnosis and surgical decision in patients with suspected acute appendicitis. Investigators believe that Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging is a valuable method in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and in making the decision of surgery.
Prospective Randomized Evaluation of Antibiotic Regimen Following Appendectomy for Perforated Appendicitis...
Perforated AppendicitisThe purpose of this study is to compare traditional triple antibiotic therapy against dual single day dosing antibiotic therapy in the management of perforated appendicitis in children.
MANAGEMENT OF APPENDICITIS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Acute AppendicitisDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, non-operative management for acute appendicitis (AA) was implemented in the UK. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and outcomes of conservative versus surgical management of AA during the pandemic.
Immature Granulocyte [IG] Count and Percentage for Medical Treatment of Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis...
Acute Appendicitis Without PeritonitisMedical EmergenciesAfter appendectomy was first described by Mcburney in 1889, it has been the most practiced emergency surgery in the world with the lifetime incidence of acute appendicitis being 5%-25%. Most cases are uncomplicated cases without any complications and perforation (20%-30%). Although appendectomy is still a curative therapy, medical treatment has come to the fore in uncomplicated cases after improvements in imaging methods for diagnosing acute appendicitis and especially the developments in antibiotherapy. Medical treatment for acute appendicitis is, in fact, not a new condition. Practicing the option of elective surgery following intravenous antibiotherapy for plastron appendicitis that is among the complicated acute appendicitis has lead to further consideration of medical treatment. A number of studies conducted for this purpose suggest that conservative treatment in uncomplicated acute appendicitis may be a first-line treatment. Medical treatment of the uncomplicated acute appendicitis prevents negative appendectomies, which indicates that surgical removal of non-inflamed appendix ranging from 6% to 20%. In addition to preventing unnecessary organ loss, it ensures eliminating postoperative complications such as intestinal obstruction and wound site complications due to surgery. Immature granulocytes (IG) are monitored in peripheral blood as immature polymorphonuclear cells because of the activation of bone marrow. Although their counts can be determined through direct inspection, they can be provided with automated systems within complete blood count parameters as well as technological developments. The increase in their number specifically suggests the activation of the bone marrow and can provide information about the infectious process before leukocytosis is observed. This study aimed to determine the importance of IG count and percentage to evaluate the role of medical treatment and control its success in cases of uncomplicated acute appendicitis.
Online Field Test of an Appendicitis Decision Support Tool
Appendicitis AcuteAfter the recent publication of the CODA Trial comparing antibiotics and surgery for acute appendicitis, the investigators developed a comprehensive decision support tool. This tool will help patients understand the risks and benefits of each treatment and make a treatment decision. This study is an online randomized field test comparing the decision support tool to a control infographic and assessing it's affect on decisional outcomes, such as decisional conflict.