Patient preference for surgery, antibiotics to treat appendicitis

Editor's Note

In this survey, most respondents chose surgical rather than nonsurgical treatment for acute appendicitis.

Of 1,728 respondents, 85.8% chose laparoscopic appendectomy, 4.9% chose open appendectomy, and 9.4% chose antibiotics alone as treatments for themselves.

For their child, 79.4% chose laparoscopic appendectomy, 6.1% chose open appendectomy, and 14.5% chose antibiotics alone.

A sensitivity analysis of 220 respondents found that antibiotics were more appealing when short- and long-term failure rates of antibiotic treatment were decreased.

Patients should be presented with all treatment options for acute appendicitis, including antibiotics alone, while future research on antibiotic treatment should focus on improving failure rates, the researchers say.

Question Which treatment will patients with uncomplicated acute appendicitis choose when presented with both surgical and nonsurgical options, and what might make nonsurgical antibiotic therapy a more appealing option?

Read More >>