Researchers from Finland have found that in most cases of appendicitis, emergency surgery can be waived.

The findings are added to previous studies that have already found that in many cases it is not necessary to remove appendicitis.

A new study published in the new issue of JAMA confirms earlier findings that in many cases, appendectomy may be dispensed with in the case of inflammation.

For decades, and to this day in many medical centers, surgeons are rushing to analyze any suspicion of appendicitis. This is because the appendicitis is considered a medical emergency and may explode in the abdominal cavity and disperse the inflammatory content. Such a situation is life-threatening and entails medical complications and prolonged rehabilitation.

In the new study, scientists from the Turku University Hospital in Finland tested 500 adults for five years and found that nearly two-thirds of patients with appendicitis were treated with antibiotics, improved their condition, and did not need surgery. A third of them had another incident of appendicitis and needed surgery.
Data processing showed that antibiotics were able to treat appendicitis without surgery in 64% of patients. Antibiotics are a safe and appropriate treatment option for appendicitis, “concluded Dr. Paulina Selminen, head of the team.
About three years ago, another study found that children with appendicitis and treated with antibiotics instead of surgery had fully recovered without surgery. These children were also released from the hospital earlier than the children who underwent surgery.

That this is an evolutionary remnant that we mortals have “stuck” with. Moreover, the appendicitis tends to cause trouble. It often develops inflammation, which can progress and cause intestinal perforation, abscesses or extensive infection in the abdominal cavity.

Inflammation of the appendix often causes high fever, nausea, vomiting, and typical pain in the lower right abdomen. An inflamed appendicitis is a medical emergency that requires urgent surgery, as the inflamed appendicitis may explode and disperse inflammation in the abdominal cavity – a situation of immediate danger to life.

As mentioned, until now the only treatment for appendicitis is surgery, during which the appendectomy is performed. When there is an accumulation of pus (abscess), the patient is treated with antibiotics plus drainage from the area, at the doctor’s discretion. The surgery can also be performed in the minimally invasive procedure (laparoscopy) or in the open method using a small incision in the lower right abdomen.

The surgery takes about an hour, after which the patient is hospitalized for about 48 hours. Surgery is not exempt from danger: Infection rarely develops in the surgical area, or in the area where the appendicitis was in the lower right abdomen. As with any operation, their blood may also occur in the surgery or inside the abdomen.

In some cases, the surgeon may try to treat antibiotics intravenously before surgery. If the patient improves significantly, the abdominal pain and nausea go away completely, he is released to his home. However, it is likely that if the pain returns, the patient will have to undergo an appendectectomy.

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