MedPath

Optimal Care of Complicated Appendicitis

Phase 4
Completed
Conditions
Appendicitis
Complicated Appendicitis
Perforated Appendicitis
Ruptured Appendicitis
Interventions
Drug: Antibiotics
Procedure: Early Appendectomy
Procedure: Interval Appendectomy
Registration Number
NCT03159754
Lead Sponsor
University of Michigan
Brief Summary

When the appendix becomes infected and inflamed, it is called appendicitis. Sometimes, if the infection and inflammation get worse, the appendix can die or burst, leading to a larger infection or even pus pockets around the appendix. This is called complicated, or perforated, appendicitis. Three common treatments for complicated appendicitis are

* appendectomy (removal of the appendix) right away

* appendectomy several weeks after the diagnosis

* treating the appendicitis without performing an appendectomy

This study seeks to determine which of these three approaches is most cost-effective in children with complicated appendicitis.

Detailed Description

This is a single center, prospective study to compare early appendectomy vs. non-operative management of immunocompetent patients with complicated appendicitis, and then to compare interval appendectomy vs. no interval appendectomy in those managed with the initial non-operative approach. Patients who choose early appendectomy will have surgery within 24 hours of diagnosis and be discharged once they are afebrile for 24 hours, have a normal WBC count, and can tolerate a diet. They will be discharged with 5 days of oral ciprofloxacin and metronidazole and follow-up in clinic 2-4 weeks later. Patients who choose non-operative management will receive piperacillin-tazobactam with or without abscess drainage until they are afebrile 24 hours with a normal WBC count and are tolerating a diet, followed by 5 days of oral ciprofloxacin and metronidazole upon discharge. These patients will then be seen in clinic in 2-4 weeks, at which time they will be given the choice of whether or not to undergo interval appendectomy at least 8 weeks from initial presentation. Those in the interval appendectomy group will follow-up one month post-operatively. Patients in both groups will be contacted 3 months and 2 years following initial presentation.

{{{While 40 participants were enrolled as intended, and some data was collected from them, a combination of staff turnover and subsequent resource constraints did not permit the analysis originally intended. Thus, results data is shown comparing the early appendectomy participants against the other two arms combined.}}}}

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
40
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
No AppendectomyAntibiotics-
Early AppendectomyEarly Appendectomy-
Early AppendectomyAntibiotics-
Interval AppendectomyInterval Appendectomy-
Interval AppendectomyAntibiotics-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Overall Cost of CareThe original intention was to gather cost data for 2 years per person following admission. As no cost data was able to be procured, there is no time frame to which it applies.

Total health care cost starting from time of admission was the intention of this outcome measure. However, the institutions potentially involved were unwilling to provide access to any cost data so this could not be analyzed for any length of time.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
ComplicationsDuring index/initial hospitalization (generally not more than 5-6 weeks)

Number of persons who experience any of a number of specified complications, including new/recurrent abscess, wound infection, small bowel obstruction, or need for a larger operation

Parents Away From WorkDuring index/initial hospitalization (generally not more than 5-6 weeks)

Parents away from work measured in days is presented here. The intention was to collect "missed activity days" for children as well as missed parent work days. However, the question to capture this information referred to school and was determined to be too inconsistent with the way the question may have been interpreted when the survey was given to code reliably.

Duration of Antibiotic TherapyDuring index/initial hospitalization (generally not more than 5-6 weeks)

Duration of antibiotic therapy measured in days

Length of StayDuring index/initial hospitalization (generally not more than 5-6 weeks)

Length of all hospital stays measured in days

Number of Percutaneous Drainage ProceduresDuring index/initial hospitalization (generally not more than 5-6 weeks)

Number of persons with differing numbers of percutaneous drainage procedures

Number of Radiographic Imaging StudiesDuring index/initial hospitalization (generally not more than 5-6 weeks)

Number of radiographic imaging studies including ultrasound, CT, and MRI

Quality of Life (PedsQL)1 month; for GI QOL; 2 years for Peds QL

Original QOL outcome measure listed was: Quality of life measured by PedsQL 2 years following discharge. Two year data collected was insufficient to allow for any analysis. One month GI QOL data collected, also listed in the protocol, is shown below. GI QoL is a validated measure with scores ranging from 0 to 100, where lower scores mean worse quality of life and higher scores mean better quality of life. Peds QL is a validated measure with scores ranging from 0 to 100, where lower scores mean worse quality of life and higher scores mean better quality of life.

Recurrent Appendicitis2 years; (Although this appears longer than trial duration, study completion date is based on last 2 year survey turned in, and medical record analysis looked a full two years per participant which extended a bit longer.)

Number of persons who experience recurrent appendicitis requiring hospitalization. Because the early appendectomy arm participant by definition have no appendix to infect after surgery, they are not shown below.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Michigan

🇺🇸

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

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