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Treatment of appendicitis with antibiotics instead of surgical procedures
Appendicitis causes severe pain in the lower abdomen. Normally, such a disease must then be surgically removed. Researchers have now found that antibiotics can be an effective alternative to surgery.
Researchers at the University of Southampton found in an investigation that the use of antibiotics in appendicitis causes surgical intervention to be avoided. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Pediatrics".
Removal of the appendix is the most common reason for emergency surgery in children
In the course of her life about one in every 13 people suffers from appendicitis. Removal of the appendix is the most common reason for emergency surgery in children, the researchers say. Antibiotics could provide a less invasive alternative to surgery. This type of treatment has already shown success in adult patients.
Is surgery for appendicitis really useful?
In recent years, medical professionals have realized that there are some patients with appendicitis in adults who can recover from their illness without surgery. Parents of children often wonder if the kids really need surgery for appendicitis, says author Professor Nigel Hall of the University of Southampton.
Surgical intervention is the proven way of treating children
In children with appendicitis, surgical intervention is the proven method of treatment, often associated with taking antibiotics, the researchers explain. The physicians were particularly interested in better exploring the possibilities of non-surgical treatment for children.
Study examined 766 children
The research has produced an overview of ten existing studies. A total of 766 children participated in the investigations. Of these children, 413 subjects with uncomplicated acute appendicitis were treated with antibiotics alone, the authors say. There was no need for surgery.
Studies compare the use of antibiotics with surgery performed
Six of the studies compared the use of antibiotics with surgery, while the other four examined antibiotic-treated children. In the course of the studies, various antibiotics and different treatment times were investigated, the researchers add.
In 82 percent of patients a treatment with antibiotics was sufficient
Exclusive treatment with antibiotics was effective in approximately 97 percent of children who had not undergone surgical treatment. The physicians could find in their study no adverse effects of the treatment of appendicitis with antibiotics, say the medical profession. However, the disease returned later in about 14 percent of children without surgery. Overall, around 82 percent of the children avoided surgery by taking antibiotics. The various studies ran over a period of eight weeks to four years.
With renewed appendicitis physicians advise to a distance
By taking antibiotics surgery can be avoided. However, if the appendicitis recurs, physicians will probably advise you to have the cecum surgically removed, the experts explain.
Further investigations are necessary
Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of antibiotics alone compared to surgery for appendicitis. In addition, the cost and quality of life of different treatments must be assessed. We need more prospective, comparative, randomized trials on the subject, say the authors. Initial steps towards such studies are already underway in the UK. The current study included only a simple acute appendicitis and no children with complicated appendicitis.
Find a specialist with appendicitis
"We would not recommend that all children with appendicitis be treated with antibiotics," explain the scientists. And the treatment of appendicitis should always be performed by a specialist or in a hospital, according to the experts.
Disadvantages of the use of antibiotics
Surgeries are expensive and can lead to complications, but there can be no appendicitis, say critics of the study. In addition, the use of antibiotics in today's time must always be considered critical. The different bacterial strains are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics. (As)