Although the standard approach to acute appendicitis is to remove the appendix, a study at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reveals that treatment with antibiotics can be just as effective in many cases.
In her thesis, Jeanette Hansson discusses two major clinical studies of adult patients with acute appendicitis. In the first study she compares surgery with antibiotic therapy, while in the second patients with appendicitis were treated with antibiotics as first-line therapy.
Carried out at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Kungälv Hospital, the studies showed that treatment with antibiotics was just as effective as surgery for the majority of patients. "Some patients are so ill that the operation is absolutely necessary, but 80 percent of those who can be treated with antibiotics recover and return to full health," says Jeanette Hansson.
The thesis also shows that patients who are treated with antibiotics are at risk of fewer complications than those who undergo surgery.