Appendicitis

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How is Appendicitis treated?

For definitive appendicitis, surgery (called an appendectomy or appendicectomy which removes the appendix) is performed as soon as possible after the diagnosis is made. Little preparation is required.

An appendectomy should be preceded by antibiotics, which are again given during the operation and continued during the early postoperative period. Suspected acute appendicitis should not be treated by antibiotics alone unless an operation is impossible.

In cases where the diagnosis of appendicitis is uncertain, hospital admission for a period of 12 to 24 hours for further observation may be undertaken. This time frame allows for the true clinical characterisitics of the illness to become evident.

Appendicitis References

Azaro EM, Amaral PC, Ettinger JE: Laparoscopic versus open appendicectomy: a comparative study. JSLS 1999 Oct-Dec; 3(4): 279-83.
Burkitt G, Quick C. Essential Surgery. 3rd Edition. Churchill Livingstone, 2002.
Kraemer M, Franke C, Ohmann C: Acute appendicitis in late adulthood: incidence, presentation, and outcome. Results of a prospective multicenter acute abdominal pain study and a review of the literature. Langenbecks Arch Surg 2000 Nov; 385(7): 470-81
Longmore, Wilkinson, Rajagopalan. Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, 6th ed, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom 2004.
Morris PJ, Wood WC. Oxford Textbook of Surgery. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press 2000.
The Merck Manual.