A new study in JAMA suggests that a 10 day course of antibiotics in patients presenting with uncomplicated appendicitis has a success rate of 73% in preventing the need for surgery over a 1 year period.
So in the future, we may manage appendicitis similarly to diverticulitis by treating stable patients with medication and reserving surgery for complicated cases.
Here is a link to the article and editorial (requires JAMA access)
Here is a link to an article in MNT summarizing the findings.
Posted by Dr. Dimitre on 17/06/2015