One-hundred-and-two children, aged nine to 13, with acute appendicitis, were enrolled in the study. Sixty-five families chose appendectomy and 37 chose management with antibiotics.
Here are three key points:
1. By 21 months after the initial diagnosis, less than a quarter of the children treated only with antibiotics had to have an appendectomy.
2. There were no significant differences between the two groups in incidents of complicated appendicitis or self-reported quality of life, and the cost of nonoperative management was 16 percent lower than surgery.
3. The surgery group had more complications and two of those who chose antibiotics had to be readmitted to the hospital for appendectomies in the first 30 days.
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