Risk of Emergency Operation Is Low for Recurrent Appendicitis

Telesnicki T, Nantais J, De Mestral C, et al. Long-Term Outcomes following Nonoperative Management of Acute Appendicitis: A Population-Based Analysis. Ann Surg. 2024.

This article reported data from a population-based cohort study designed to document long-term outcomes following nonoperative management of appendicitis.

The study cohort (n = 156,362) included all patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis during an emergency department visit in a single Canadian province over a 5-year interval. The outcomes of interest included rates of re-presentation or intervention (readmission, emergency, or scheduled appendectomy).

Re-presentation rates were 33% at 1 year and 36% at 5 years. Incidence of readmission was 16%; 12% of patients underwent emergency appendectomy during follow up. Scheduled appendectomy was performed in 21% of patients.

The authors concluded that the rate of re-presentation during follow up was lower than reported in other studies of nonoperative management of appendicitis and that scheduled appendectomy occurred in a considerable proportion of patients indicating that the risk of operation for recurrent appendicitis during follow up was low.