Acute appendicitis (AA) is among the most common causes of acute abdominal pain. Diagnosis of AA is still challenging and some controversies on its management are still present among different settings and practice patterns worldwide. In July 2015, the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) organized in Jerusalem the first consensus conference on the diagnosis and treatment of AA in adult patients with the intention of producing evidence-based guidelines. An updated consensus conference took place in Nijemegen in June 2019 and the guidelines have now been updated in order to provide evidence-based statements and recommendations in keeping with varying clinical practice: use of clinical scores and imaging in diagnosing AA, indications and timing for surgery, use of non-operative management and antibiotics, laparoscopy and surgical techniques, intra-operative scoring, and peri-operative antibiotic therapy. This executive manuscript summarizes the WSES guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of AA. Literature search has been updated up to 2019 and statements and recommendations have been developed according to the GRADE methodology. The statements were voted, eventually modified, and finally approved by the participants to the consensus conference and by the board of co-authors, using a Delphi methodology for voting whenever there was controversy on a statement or a recommendation. Several tables highlighting the research topics and questions, search syntaxes, and the statements and the WSES evidence-based recommendations are provided. Finally, two different practical clinical algorithms are provided in the form of a flow chart for both adults and pediatric (< 16 years old) patients. The 2020 WSES guidelines on AA aim to provide updated evidence-based statements and recommendations on each of the following topics: (1) diagnosis, (2) non-operative management for uncomplicated AA, (3) timing of appendectomy and in-hospital delay, (4) surgical treatment, (5) intra-operative grading of AA, (6) ,management of perforated AA with phlegmon or abscess, and (7) peri-operative antibiotic therapy.

/pdf/diagnosis-and-treatment-of-acute-appendicitis-2020-update-of-4626c55liu.pdf

Diagnosis and treatment of acute appendicitis: 2020 update of the WSES Jerusalem guidelines

Background Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of the acute abdomen, with an incidence of 1 per 1000 persons per year. It is one of the main differential diagnoses of unclear abdominal conditions. Methods This review is based on pertinent publications that were retrieved by a selective search in the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases. Results In addition to the medical history, physical examination and laboratory tests, abdominal ultrasonography should be performed to establish the diagnosis (and sometimes computed tomography [CT] or magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], if ultrasonography is insufficient). Before any treatment is provided, appendicitis is classified as either uncomplicated or complicated. In both types of appendicitis, the decision to treat surgically or conservatively must be based on the overall clinical picture and the patient's risk factors. Appendectomy is the treatment of choice for acute appendicitis in all age groups. In Germany, appendectomy is mainly performed laparoscopically in patients with low morbidity. Uncomplicated appendicitis can, alternatively, be treated conservatively under certain circumstances. A meta-analysis of five randomized, controlled trials has revealed that ca. 37% of adult patients treated conservatively undergo appendectomy within one year. Complicated appendicitis is a serious disease; it can also potentially be treated conservatively (with antibiotics, with or without placement of a drain) as an alternative to surgical treatment. Conclusion Conservative treatment is being performed more frequently, but the current state of the evidence does not justify a change of the standard therapy from surgery to conservative treatment.

Acute Appendicitis in Childhood and Adulthood.

BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of nonoperative management of acute appendicitis in children with an appendicolith identified on preoperative imaging.


STUDY DESIGN
We performed a prospective nonrandomized trial of nonoperative management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis with an appendicolith in children aged 7 to 17years. The primary outcome was the failure rate of nonoperative management, defined as having undergone an appendectomy. Early termination was set to occur if the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval of the failure rate was greater than 20% at 30days or 30% at 1year.


RESULTS
Recruitment for this study was halted after enrollment of 14 patients (N=5 nonoperative; N=9 surgery). The failure rate of nonoperative management was 60% (3/5) at a median follow-up of 4.7months (IQR 1.0-7.6) with a 95% CI of 23%-88%. None of the three patients that failed nonoperative management had complicated appendicitis at the time of appendectomy, while six out of nine patients who chose surgery had complicated appendicitis (0/3 vs. 6/9, p=0.18). The trial was stopped for concerns over patient safety.


CONCLUSIONS
Nonoperative management of acute appendicitis with an appendicolith in children resulted in an unacceptably high failure rate.

High Failure Rate of Non-Operative Management of Acute Appendicitis with an Appendicolith in Children

Acute appendicitis has been considered by surgeons a progressive disease leading to perforation for more than 100 years. In the last decades the theories about this concept gained attention, especially in adults. However, appendectomy for acute appendicitis remains the most common urgent/emergent surgical procedure. At present, accumulating evidences are showing the changing in clinical practice towards the non-operative management of several cases of acute appendicitis either non-complicated or complicated. The present review aims to show the literature results regarding the non-operative management of acute appendicitis in non-complicated and in complicated cases.

Conservative treatment of acute appendicitis.

To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdown on management and outcomes of children with acute appendicitis. A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including children treated for acute appendicitis (January 20th–May 11th, 2020). The data regarding the severity of appendicitis and outcome were collected and compared for two time periods, before and after the nationwide lockdown (March 17th, 2020). The number of cases of acute appendicitis increased by 77% during the lockdown (n = 39 vs. n = 69, p = 0.03). During the lockdown, children treated for appendicitis were older (11.1 vs. 8.9 years, p = 0.003), and were more likely to live more than 5 km away from our institution (77% vs. 52%, p = 0.017). Less children had previously consulted a general practitioner (15% vs. 33%, p = 0.028), whereas more children were transferred from other hospitals (52% vs. 31%, p = 0.043). There was no difference in terms of length of hospital stay, rate of postoperative intra-abdominal abscess, ER visits, and readmissions between both periods. Three children (4%) were diagnosed with COVID-19 and appendicitis. Despite an increase in the number of children with appendicitis managed at our hospital during the COVID-19-related lockdown, management, and outcome remained similar. Although our pediatric center was strongly affected by this pandemic, maintaining our prior practice strategies for acute appendicitis avoided the occurrence of collateral damage for those children.

/pdf/the-role-of-a-pediatric-tertiary-care-center-in-avoiding-acbufuscz9.pdf

The role of a pediatric tertiary care center in avoiding collateral damage for children with acute appendicitis during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Objectives To compare conservative treatment with index admission appendicectomy in children with acute uncomplicated appendicitis. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) from 1950 to 18 February 2017. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Studies that assessed both appendicectomy and non-operative management of acute uncomplicated appendicitis in children of less than 18 years of age. Endpoints were postintervention complications, readmission and efficacy (successful outcome of the initial therapy). Results Five studies met the inclusion criteria (conservative treatment n=189; surgical intervention n=253). Compared with patients undergoing index admission appendicectomy, conservative treatment showed a reduced treatment efficacy (relative risk 0.77, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.84; p Conclusions Conservative treatment was less efficacious and was associated with a higher readmission rate. Index admission appendicectomy should in the present still be considered to be the treatment of choice for the management of uncomplicated appendicitis in children.

https://adc.bmj.com/content/archdischild/early/2017/08/17/archdischild-2017-313127.full.pdf

Conservative treatment versus surgery for uncomplicated appendicitis in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Principles Optimal management of perforated appendicitis with perityphlitic phlegmon or abscess formation is controversial. The aim of the study was to assess the outcome after a two-step procedure to treat patients with perityphlitic abscess formation. Methods We retrospectively assessed prospectively collected data from a single-centre database that included adult patients who had appendicitis and perityphlitic abscess (>=3 cm) but no generalised peritonitis, and were treated in 2007-2015. Patients underwent a two-step procedure that comprised antibiotic treatment and drainage when technically feasible (step 1) followed by interval appendectomy (step 2). We evaluated treatment modalities, complications and outcomes. Results Out of a total of 1480 patients with appendicitis, 15 patients presented with perityphlitic abscess. In addition to antibiotic treatment, computed tomography-guided drainage was performed in 12 of these cases. Step 1 and 2 hospital stays were (median, range) 7 days (5–14 days) and 2 days (2–12 days), respectively. One patient’s abscess recurred after 2 months, associated with new onset appendicitis and perforation. Another patient underwent reoperation after interval appendectomy for suspected postoperative peritonitis. Conclusion This two-step procedure for appendicitis with appendicular abscess was highly successful (100%) with a low rate of complications (13%). In the view of a potentially increased rate of appendicular neoplasm in combination with abscess formation, the role of interval appendectomy has to be evaluated in larger trials.

Two-step procedure for complicated appendicitis with perityphlitic abscess formation

Aims of the study Pneumothoraces after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) are an uncommon but potentially lethal complication. Little evidence is available on their epidemiology, diagnosis and therapy. We aimed to evaluate current practices and provide recommendations. Method We systematically reviewed articles from PubMed, Embase, OVID-Medline and the Cochrane Library. Results Forty-four publications reported pneumothoraces after ERCP in 49 patients (74% females). Twenty-one patients (43%) had atypical gastrointestinal anatomy, including peri-ampullary diverticula (n = 8), surgical or endoscopic alterations (n = 7), local tumours (n = 3), ulcerations (n = 2) and ectopic papilla (n = 1). Precut (14%) or standard (39%) sphincterotomies were performed. Cannulation was unsuccessful in six ERCPs. Pneumothoraces occurred bilaterally (45%), on the right (37%) or left side (6%), or no side was stated (12%). Nineteen tension pneumothoraces occurred. Perforations were mainly caused by the sphincterotome, peri-ampullary (41%), or the endoscope, distant from the papilla of Vater (23%). Pneumothoraces were sometimes diagnosed only after hospital discharge (14%). Eighteen patients underwent surgical therapy with drainage, repair and/or bypass. Conservative treatment included antibiotics and bowel rest. Most pneumothoraces were drained; 14% resolved without pleural drainage. Overall mortality was 4%. The mean hospital stay was 9.8 days. Conclusions A post-ERCP pneumothorax should be considered when subcutaneous emphysema, cardiovascular instability or respiratory distress occurs. Thoraco-abdominal computed tomography facilitates identification and therapy tailoring. Because of possible late or discrete onset, patients should be monitored carefully.

Systematic review of pneumothoraces after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

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Conservative treatment versus surgery for uncomplicated appendicitis in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Two-step procedure for complicated appendicitis with perityphlitic abscess formation

Systematic review of pneumothoraces after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.