Antibiotics are as good as surgery for appendicitis, study reports

Antibiotics could be used instead of appendectomy to treat appendicitis in some patients, according to a study that compared the treatments in 1552 patients.1

Researchers carried out a non-blinded, non-inferiority, randomised trial comparing a 10 day course of antibiotics with appendectomy in appendicitis patients across 25 centres in the US. They reported that antibiotics were non-inferior to appendectomy at 30 days, based on a quality of life questionnaire (mean difference, 0.01 points; 95% confidence interval, -0.001 to 0.03).

The researchers said their findings “may be particularly relevant during the covid-19 pandemic, as patients and clinicians weigh the benefits and …