Laparoscopic Management of Acute Appendicitis

BackgroundCurrently, the routine treatment for acute appendicitis in the United Kingdom is an appendicectomy. However, there is increasing scientific interest and research into non-operative treatment of appendicitis in adults and children. While a number of studies have investigated non-operative treatment of appendicitis in adults, this research cannot be applied to the paediatric population. Ultimately, we aim to perform a UK-based multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test the clinical and cost effectiveness of non-operative treatment of acute uncomplicated appendicitis in children, as compared with appendicectomy. First, we will undertake a feasibility study to assess the feasibility of performing such a trial.Methods/designThe study involves a feasibility RCT with a nested qualitative research to optimise recruitment as well as a health economic substudy. Children (aged 4–15 years inclusive) diagnosed with acute uncomplicated appendicitis that would normally be treated with an appendicectomy are eligible for the RCT. Exclusion criteria include clinical/radiological suspicion of perforated appendicitis, appendix mass or previous non-operative treatment of appendicitis. Participants will be randomised into one of two arms. Participants in the intervention arm are treated with antibiotics and regular clinical assessment to ensure clinical improvement. Participants in the control arm will receive appendicectomy. Randomisation will be minimised by age, sex, duration of symptoms and centre. Children and families who are approached for the RCT will be invited to participate in the embedded qualitative substudy, which includes recording of recruitment consultants and subsequent interviews with participants and non-participants and their families and recruiters. Analyses of these will inform interventions to optimise recruitment. The main study outcomes include recruitment rate (primary outcome), identification of strategies to optimise recruitment, performance of trial treatment pathways, clinical outcomes and safety of non-operative treatment. We have involved children, young people and parents in study design and delivery.DiscussionIn this study we will explore the feasibility of performing a full efficacy RCT comparing non-operative treatment with appendicectomy in children with acute uncomplicated appendicitis. Factors determining success of the present study include recruitment rate, safety of non-operative treatment and adequate interest in the future RCT. Ultimately this feasibility study will form the foundation of the main RCT and reinforce its design.Trial registrationISRCTN15830435. Registered on 8 February 2017.

2412 Cost effectiveness analysis of operative Versus antibiotic management for uncomplicated appendicitis

<p dir="ltr">Acute appendicitis is a clinical term for inflammation of the vermiform appendix with a sudden onset. Symptoms depend both on the age of a patient and on the position of appendix intraabdominally. The aetiology remains unknown, although, there are multiple theories. The lifetime risk of acute appendicitis in Western countries has been established as 7-8%, with 8.6% for males and 6.7% for females. The standard treatment has been surgery for many decades, but non-operative treatment, in the form of antibiotics, has more recently come to light as a feasible alternative to appendectomies.</p><p dir="ltr">Aims: The aim of this thesis was to assess intermediate and long-term outcomes of non- operative treatment in both children and adults. This included assessing safety and feasibility of non-operative treatment and its complications. An additional aim was to ascertain the failure rate of non-operative treatment and recurrence of acute uncomplicated appendicitis in children and try to establish the reasons for the treatment failure.</p><p dir="ltr">Methods: Study I was a 5-year follow-up of all participants who underwent surgery or non- operative treatment with antibiotics in a previous randomised controlled pilot trial. Data was extracted from the hospital notes and telephone interviews.</p><p dir="ltr">Study II was a long-term follow-up of adults with acute appendicitis who were involved in two randomised controlled trials, which compared non-operative treatment with appendectomy. The first trial consisted of 40 patients (13 female) and second trial was a multicentre study with 252 male patients. National registers were used to retrieve data at follow up, including the Swedish National Patient Register, the Cancer Register, the Cause of Death Register and Statistics Sweden.</p><p dir="ltr">Study III was a systematic review that was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024592607) and done according to PRISMA statement. We searched three databases (PubMed, Medline, Web of Science). Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials or prospective cohort studies with children aged <18 years that received non-operative treatment for uncomplicated appendicitis and reporting at least 30 days follow-up. We carried out a meta- analysis.</p><p dir="ltr">Results: In Study I, we followed up all 50 children (26 children in the appendectomy group, 24 children in the nonoperative group) for at least 5 years. The surgical group was without failures and in the nonoperative group there were 11 failures and recurrences. In the first year there were nine failures, two of them had an appendicitis on the histopathology. Another two recurrences, that were histopathologically confirmed appendicitis occurred one to five years after the initial trial. At the 5-year follow-up, 54% of children had been successfully treated nonoperatively with antibiotics alone.</p><p dir="ltr">In Study II, in total, we were able to trace down 259 patients in the Patient Register, 137 patients in the non-operative group and 122 in the surgical group. At the end of follow-up, 82 (60%) patients had had successful non-operative treatment without an appendectomy. In the non-operative group there were 21 (15%) failures during the first admission. Thirty-four recurrences happened after discharge, all with a diagnostic code of acute appendicitis. After successful initial treatment, 82/116 (71%) remained without appendectomy.</p><p dir="ltr">In Study III, through a systematic search we were able to identify 2343 abstracts. Thirty studies were eligible, 8 randomised controlled trials and 22 prospective cohort studies reporting 27 different patient cohorts. An early failure rate occurred in 10% (95% CI 7-14%) and the recurrence rate was 29% (95% CI 24-34%) at the end of follow-up. When analysing studies with faecalith, a failure rate was higher (17% versus 6.4%) with P-value <0.0001.</p><p dir="ltr">Conclusions: Studies I and II demonstrated intermediate- and long-term safety of non- operative treatment alone in children and adults. This treatment does not increase the risk of malignancy and other complications and patients avoid surgery. Study III demonstrated a low initial failure rate and the recurrence rate was 29%. Non-operative treatment was less successful in children with a faecalith, particularly during first admission. These results can be used for discussion about treatment options of uncomplicated appendicitis with child patients and their caregivers.</p><h3>List of scientific papers</h3><p dir="ltr">I. <b>Patkova B</b>, Svenningsson A, Almström M, Eaton S, Wester T, Svensson JF. Nonoperative Treatment Versus Appendectomy for Acute Nonperforated Appendicitis in Children: Five-year Follow Up of a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. Ann Surg. 2020 Jun;271(6):1030-1035. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000003646">https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000003646</a></p><p dir="ltr">II. <b>Pátková B,</b> Svenningsson A, Almström M, Svensson JF, Eriksson S, Wester T, Eaton S. Long-Term Outcome of Nonoperative Treatment of Appendicitis. JAMA Surg. 2023 Oct 1;158(10):1105-1106. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2023.2756">https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2023.2756</a></p><p dir="ltr">III. <b>Patková B</b>, Svenningsson A, Jumah S, Wester T, Eaton S. Failure and recurrence of non-operative treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis in children; a systematic review and meta-analysis. [Manuscript]</p>

<p dir="ltr">Acute appendicitis is a clinical term for inflammation of the vermiform appendix with a sudden onset. Symptoms depend both on the age of a patient and on the position of appendix intraabdominally. The aetiology remains unknown, although, there are multiple theories. The lifetime risk of acute appendicitis in Western countries has been established as 7-8%, with 8.6% for males and 6.7% for females. The standard treatment has been surgery for many decades, but non-operative treatment, in the form of antibiotics, has more recently come to light as a feasible alternative to appendectomies.</p><p dir="ltr">Aims: The aim of this thesis was to assess intermediate and long-term outcomes of non- operative treatment in both children and adults. This included assessing safety and feasibility of non-operative treatment and its complications. An additional aim was to ascertain the failure rate of non-operative treatment and recurrence of acute uncomplicated appendicitis in children and try to establish the reasons for the treatment failure.</p><p dir="ltr">Methods: Study I was a 5-year follow-up of all participants who underwent surgery or non- operative treatment with antibiotics in a previous randomised controlled pilot trial. Data was extracted from the hospital notes and telephone interviews.</p><p dir="ltr">Study II was a long-term follow-up of adults with acute appendicitis who were involved in two randomised controlled trials, which compared non-operative treatment with appendectomy. The first trial consisted of 40 patients (13 female) and second trial was a multicentre study with 252 male patients. National registers were used to retrieve data at follow up, including the Swedish National Patient Register, the Cancer Register, the Cause of Death Register and Statistics Sweden.</p><p dir="ltr">Study III was a systematic review that was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024592607) and done according to PRISMA statement. We searched three databases (PubMed, Medline, Web of Science). Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials or prospective cohort studies with children aged <18 years that received non-operative treatment for uncomplicated appendicitis and reporting at least 30 days follow-up. We carried out a meta- analysis.</p><p dir="ltr">Results: In Study I, we followed up all 50 children (26 children in the appendectomy group, 24 children in the nonoperative group) for at least 5 years. The surgical group was without failures and in the nonoperative group there were 11 failures and recurrences. In the first year there were nine failures, two of them had an appendicitis on the histopathology. Another two recurrences, that were histopathologically confirmed appendicitis occurred one to five years after the initial trial. At the 5-year follow-up, 54% of children had been successfully treated nonoperatively with antibiotics alone.</p><p dir="ltr">In Study II, in total, we were able to trace down 259 patients in the Patient Register, 137 patients in the non-operative group and 122 in the surgical group. At the end of follow-up, 82 (60%) patients had had successful non-operative treatment without an appendectomy. In the non-operative group there were 21 (15%) failures during the first admission. Thirty-four recurrences happened after discharge, all with a diagnostic code of acute appendicitis. After successful initial treatment, 82/116 (71%) remained without appendectomy.</p><p dir="ltr">In Study III, through a systematic search we were able to identify 2343 abstracts. Thirty studies were eligible, 8 randomised controlled trials and 22 prospective cohort studies reporting 27 different patient cohorts. An early failure rate occurred in 10% (95% CI 7-14%) and the recurrence rate was 29% (95% CI 24-34%) at the end of follow-up. When analysing studies with faecalith, a failure rate was higher (17% versus 6.4%) with P-value <0.0001.</p><p dir="ltr">Conclusions: Studies I and II demonstrated intermediate- and long-term safety of non- operative treatment alone in children and adults. This treatment does not increase the risk of malignancy and other complications and patients avoid surgery. Study III demonstrated a low initial failure rate and the recurrence rate was 29%. Non-operative treatment was less successful in children with a faecalith, particularly during first admission. These results can be used for discussion about treatment options of uncomplicated appendicitis with child patients and their caregivers.</p><h3>List of scientific papers</h3><p dir="ltr">I. <b>Patkova B</b>, Svenningsson A, Almström M, Eaton S, Wester T, Svensson JF. Nonoperative Treatment Versus Appendectomy for Acute Nonperforated Appendicitis in Children: Five-year Follow Up of a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. Ann Surg. 2020 Jun;271(6):1030-1035. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000003646">https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000003646</a></p><p dir="ltr">II. <b>Pátková B,</b> Svenningsson A, Almström M, Svensson JF, Eriksson S, Wester T, Eaton S. Long-Term Outcome of Nonoperative Treatment of Appendicitis. JAMA Surg. 2023 Oct 1;158(10):1105-1106. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2023.2756">https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2023.2756</a></p><p dir="ltr">III. <b>Patková B</b>, Svenningsson A, Jumah S, Wester T, Eaton S. Failure and recurrence of non-operative treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis in children; a systematic review and meta-analysis. [Manuscript]</p>

BackgroundOver the last 10–15 years the management of appendicitis in childhood has changed with regard to diagnosis and therapy.ManagementThe implementation of ultrasound, scoring systems to support the surgical indication and minimally invasive techniques for surgery ranging from conventional laparoscopy to single port surgery have had a major impact in the treatment of appendicitis. In addition, the non-operative management of appendicitis has gained new importance. The goal of this article is to provide pediatricians and pediatric surgeons an update for their daily clinical work.ConclusionPractical clinical guidelines for the current modern treatment of pediatric appendicitis are proposed in this article.

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common urgent abdominal interventions.Open appendectomy has been a standard procedure for acute appendicitis for more than 100 years.However, in the last 20 years, after many studies, laparoscopic appendectomy has become a gold standard in solving acute appendicitis.The main goal of our study was to compare results of open and laparoscopic appendectomies with regard to in-hospital stay, time of operation, postoperative complications and postoperative pain.All patients underwent open or laparoscopic appendectomy in the Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Emergency Center of the University Clinical Center Ni, Serbia in the period of one year.A total of 126 patients were enrolled and submitted to retrospective analysis.One hundred and twenty-six patients who underwent laparoscopic or open appendectomy surgery were retrospectively analysed.A laparoscopic appendectomy was performed in 58 patients, while 68 patients underwent an open appendectomy.Groups were demographically similar and there was no significant difference between the age structure and gender distribution (t = 0.927; p = 0.057).Average height (p = 0.123), weight (p = 0.200) and BMI (p = 0.425) were mostly similar.Previous surgical operations were more common in patients with open appendectomy, but with no statistical significance (p = 0.141).Percentage of patients with WBC > 10 were the same in both groups (p = 0.927).Diabetes mellitus was more common in patients with open appendectomy, but with no statistical significance (p = 0.563).Acute and perforated appendicitis were similar in both groups (p = 0.490).Average time of operation was the same in both groups (p = 0.751).Number of days of in-hospital stay was shorter in patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy (p < 0.001).The analysis of administration of parenteral and oral analgesics showed that postoperative pain was less in the group of patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy than in the group of patients with open appendectomy.There was no statistically significant difference with respect to postoperative complications between two groups (p < 0.001).The treatment of appendicitis by using laparoscopic surgery in comparison to open approach provides a better result in terms of duration of hospital stay, recovering time, postoperative complications and postoperative pain.

Demographic changes associated with the aging population mean that surgeons increasingly have contact and make decisions about treating patients from the oldest age groups. The aim of the study was to review the literature concerning the treatment of acute appendicitis in patients over the age of 60 years old. A review of the literature published in the years 2000-2015 has been carried out using the PubMed database. The initial number of results corresponding to the query in English, "appendicitis (MeSH) AND elderly (MeSH)" was 260. Selection based on the titles, abstracts, and eventually whole articles, ultimately resulted in 11 papers concerning the treatment of appendicitis in patients above 60 years of age. Nine papers were retrospective and 2 were prospective. In total, the studies included 82,852 patients. Laparoscopic appendectomy was associated with a lower mortality rate, a smaller number of postoperative complications and a shorter length of hospital stay, which led to it being recommended by most authors. Four of the ten papers demonstrated that the patients who were qualified for laparoscopic surgery had less comorbidity and were in a lower ASA (American Society of Anaesthesiology) category. Antibiotic therapy as an independent method was assessed in one study in a group of elderly people, on a selected group of 26 patients, and its effectiveness was shown to be 70%. Most studies, however, are highly heterogeneous which significantly hindered comparisons. Currently, laparoscopic appendectomy seems to be the treatment of choice in the elderly with acute appendicitis. Antibiotic therapy, as an independent method of treatment of acute appendicitis, cannot currently be recommended. However, further, prospective, and better-designed studies are needed, involving a larger number of patients, and primarily dedicated to the elderly.

Transumbilical laparoscopic-assisted appendectomy (TULAA) is increasingly being performed worldwide. The authors report their experience in the treatment of acute uncomplicated appendicitis in children with TULAA. From January 2008 to December 2012 all types of acute appendicitis were divided, according to the clinical and ultrasonographic findings, into complicated (appendiceal mass/abscess, diffuse peritonitis) and uncomplicated. Complicated appendicitis was treated by open appendectomy (OA). All patients with the suspicion of uncomplicated appendicitis were offered TULAA by all surgeons of the team. Conversion to open or laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) was performed in case of impossibility to complete TULAA, depending on the choice of surgeon. The histopathologic examination of appendix was always performed. 444 children (252 males) with acute appendicitis were treated. The mean age was 9.2 years (range, 2 to 14 years). Primary OA was performed in 144 cases. In 300 patients a transumbilical laparoscopic-assisted approach was performed. TULAA was completed in 252 patients. Conversion to OA was performed in 45 patients and to LA in 3. Conversion was related to the impossibility to adequately expose the appendix in 47 patients and bleeding in 1. The mean operative time for TULAA was 42 minutes. Histopathologic examination of the appendix removed by TULAA showed a phlegmonous/gangrenous type in 92.8% of cases. Among the 252 TULAA there were 11 cases of umbilical wound infection. TULAA is a feasible and effective procedure for uncomplicated appendicitis in children. It combines the advantages of open and laparoscopic technique (low operative time, low complications rate, and excellent cosmetic results).

Acute Appendicitis in Infants: Still a Diagnostic Dilemma

See Article on Page 192-197 Acute appendicitis is the most common indication for surgery in patients admitted to hospital due to an acute abdomen. Although most are uncomplicated, about 20% of all acute appendicitis cases are complicated, leading to local or diffuse peritonitis. An urgent appendectomy is the recommended treatment for both complicated and uncomplicated appendicitis. The appendectomy, which has been the first choice for the treatment of acute appendicitis for over 120 years, is a classic surgical procedure [1]. Nowadays, a laparoscopic appendectomy is widely practiced for its benefits, such as significantly shorter operative time, lower incidence of wound infection, and reduced length of hospital stay [2]. Although an appendectomy is generally well tolerated, it is still considered a major surgical intervention and can be associated with postoperative morbidity in about 2%-23% of patients [3]. According to a study that followed patients for over a decade, 3% of the patients undergoing appendectomy were readmitted for intestinal obstruction related to postoperative adhesion [4,5]. Therefore, physicians are taking higher interest in noninvasive interventions, such as antibiotic therapy, as a primary treatment. Although the appendectomy remains the standard approach for treating appendicitis [6], several studies have already suggested that appendicitis can be treated with antibiotics [5]. Two well-studied appendicitis scoring systems based on clinical symptoms were used to diagnose appendicitis: the Alfredo Alvarado system for adults and the Madan Samuel system for children. The Alvarado score was developed in Philadelphia in the mid-1980s and has a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 74% [7]. The Pediatric Appendicitis Score was developed to diagnose appendicitis in children and has a high sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 92% [8]. Although these scoring systems were widely used to diagnose appendicitis in the past, they are no longer practically implicated. Recently, various diagnostic tools, such as computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound, have been developed to diagnose appendicitis. With the improvement of such radiologic tools, determining the severity of and diagnosing appendicitis have become more accurate. The development of radiologic tools has provided many advantages for diagnosing appendicitis and determining its severity. The increased use of CT has reduced the rate of negative (unnecessary) appendectomies [9]. A meta-analysis consisting of data from 31 studies revealed that both the sensitivity and the specificity of CT for appendicitis were as high as 94% [10]. The development of a precise scoring system based on CT to distinguish between complicated and uncomplicated appendicitis has led to an improvement in diagnostic accuracy [11]. This system provides the physician with the evidence needed to decide on a treatment strategy for appendicitis patients. A meta-analysis [12] of randomized controlled trials comparing antibiotics with appendectomies has shown that although antibiotic treatment alone can be successful in 77%-95% of the cases, patients should be made aware of the fact that the failure rate during the first year, with a need for readmission or surgery, is around 25%-30%. However, recently conducted research proposed the use of antibiotics as the single treatment for uncomplicated appendicitis. However, one should note that more accurate selection criteria, based on combinations of clinical risk scores and imaging, are required for patients or subgroups of patients in whom primary antibiotic treatment is more likely to succeed in the long-term, and CT could be of assistance in the process of selecting patients suitable for antibiotics therapy. Although the appendectomy is the best treatment for the appendicitis, studies on the use of antibiotics therapy to treat patients with uncomplicated appendicitis are still meaningful; thus, efforts for such research should be supported.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of nonoperative treatment of acute nonperforated appendicitis in children during 5 years of follow-up. A 4-year follow-up of a previous randomized controlled pilot trial, including 50 children with acute nonperforated appendicitis, was performed. The patients were initially randomized to nonoperative treatment with antibiotics or appendectomy with 1-year follow-up previously reported. Data were extracted from the computerized notes and telephone interviews.The primary outcome was treatment failure, defined as need for a secondary intervention under general anesthesia, related to the previous diagnosis of acute nonperforated appendicitis. The children were followed up for at least 5 years [median 5.3 (range 5.0-5.6)] after inclusion. There were no failures in the appendectomy group (0/26) and 11 failures in the nonoperative group (11/24). Nine failures had occurred during the first year after inclusion, 2 of whom had histologically confirmed appendicitis. There were 2 further patients with recurrent acute appendicitis 1 to 5 years after inclusion. Both these patients had uncomplicated laparoscopic appendectomies for histologically confirmed acute appendicitis. There were no losses to follow-up. At 5 years of follow-up 46% of children treated with antibiotics for acute nonperforated appendicitis had undergone an appendectomy, although acute appendicitis was only histologically confirmed in 4/24 (17%). Treatment with antibiotics seems to be safe in the intermediate-term; none of the children previously treated nonoperatively re-presented with complicated appendicitis.

Appendicitis

Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency. It is commonly caused by obstruction of the appendiceal lumen due to fecaliths, tumors, or lymphoid hyperplasia. For over a century, appendectomy has been the primary treatment for acute appendicitis. Abraham Groves performed the first open appendectomy in 1883. In 1983, Kurt Semm completed the first laparoscopic appendectomy, heralding a new era in appendectomy. However, appendectomy is associated with certain complications and a rate of negative appendectomies. Studies have suggested controversy over the impact of appendectomy on the development of inflammatory bowel disease and Parkinson's disease, but an increasing number of studies indicate a possible positive correlation between appendectomy and colorectal cancer, gallstones, and cardiovascular disease. With the recognition that the appendix is not a vestigial organ and the advancement of endoscopic te-chnology, Liu proposed the endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy. It is an effective minimally invasive alternative for treating uncomplicated acute appendicitis. Our team has developed an appendoscope with a disposable digital imaging system operated through the biopsy channel of a colonoscope and successfully applied it in the treatment of appendicitis. This article provides an overview of the progress in endoscopic treatment for acute appendicitis and offers a new perspective on the future direction of appendiceal disease treatment.

IntroductionIn recent years, there has been growing interest in alternatives to appendicectomy. In particular, non-operative treatment of appendicitis, with antibiotics alone, has been proposed as a potential treatment. A small...

Introduction: Acute appendicitis (AA) is a common surgical disease which occurs in almost all age groups, and especially in childhood. Acute appendicitis is one of the most common causes of acute abdomen. The lifetime occurrence of this disease is approximately 7%, with perforation rate of up to 20%. In spite of the well-known classical symptoms and clinical findings of acute appendicitis, early diagnosis can be sometimes challenging. For the treatment of simple appendicitis (SA) in children, the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment has been reported. We aimed to determine predictive value of combination NLR and PAS in pediatric patients with clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis and complicated appendicitis Methods: Our study was performed on 480 children admitted for suspected acute appendicitis and underwent appendectomy at the MNCMCH, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, between May 2019 and December 2019. White blood count (WBC), Neutrophil, NLR and PAS were compared between groups. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV of PAS + NLR for differentiating complicated and noncomplicated appendicitis were 86.8%, 89.4%, 92.1% and 76% respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV of PAS + NLR for diagnosis of acute appendicitis were 90.5%, 68.1%, 97.68% and 32.6% respectively. Conclusion: In the era of conservative antibiotic-based management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis, we advocate that combination of NLR and PAS is a useful aid in predicting complicated appendicitis.