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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – COLUMBUS, Ohio) – A new study by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is challenging the notion that children who are diagnosed with appendicitis should automatically undergo emergency surgery to remove the appendix. Instead, doctors are successfully treating patients using only antibiotics. “Simply by giving these children antibiotics through an IV and monitoring them overnight, we found that over 90 percent were able to leave the hospital with their appendix and avoid surgery,” said Kate Deans, MD, co-author of the study and co-director of the Center for Surgical Outcomes Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Then, by completing a course of antibiotics at home, the vast majority of children recovered completely.” The study is the first in the U.S. to compare outcomes between children who were treated with antibiotics for uncomplicated appendicitis and those who underwent traditional surgery to remove the appendix. Some 70,000 children a year, or about 200 a day, have emergency appendectomies. “This study shows there is a non-surgical option parents may want to consider, and the results of treatment with antibiotics may be long-lasting,” said Pete Minneci, MD, the study’s other co-author, and co-director of the Center for Surgical Outcomes Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Of the children who were treated only with antibiotics, more than 75 percent still had their appendix a year later with no further complications. ### For advertising/promo rates, contact Mike McCurdy at 877-634-1980 or [email protected] |
