Early antibiotic treatment is superior to observation for avoiding surgical exploration in acute appendicitis
Acute appendicitis patients were randomly assigned to receive either antibiotic treatment with active observation or classic observation without antibiotic treatment. The study found that early antibiotic treatment was more effective in avoiding surgical exploration and appendectomy compared to the observation group. The antibiotic group had a lower rate of appendectomy at the first hospital stay (28% compared to 53% in the observation group).
Accounting for emergency colon surgery changed infection-risk rankings: safety-net hospitals were no longer more likely to land in the highest-risk group.
Among older adults having urgent abdominal surgery, robotic operations were linked to fewer severe complications and more discharges home, but not shorter stays after adjustment.
