There was no consistency among the protocol s regarding length of antibiotic use , discharge criteria , or use of home antibiotics following discharge .
Limiting duration of antibiotic use to3 days did not appear to be associated with higher rates of intraabdominal abscess or wound infection .
In the absence of higher-level evidence , shortening of antibiotic regimens following surgery for pediatric complicated appendicitis appears to be safe
The suitable duration of antibiotic use following appendectomy for advanced appendicitis in children is still debated .
Early appendectomy for perforated appendicitis in children should not be abandoned.
Appendectomy for the diagnosis of appendicitis was prospect ively performed upon 133 children from 1 July 1982 to 30 June 1985 with no mortality . The pathologic diagnosis revealed 11 normal appendices ( 8.3 per cent ) , 54 instances of acute appendicitis ( 40.6 per cent ) , 16 instances of gangrenous appendicitis ( 12.0 per cent ) and 52 instances of perforated appendicitis ( 39.1 per cent ) . There were no complications in those patients with normal appendices , acute appendicitis and gangrenous appendicitis and the mean length of hospitalization for these groups was 3.27 , 3.37 and 4.75 days , respectively . The mean length of hospitalization for patients with perforated appendicitis was significantly longer , 9.45 days ( p less than 0.05 ) . Thirteen complications developed in 11 patients with perforated appendicitis . Eight patients required a reoperation ( a major morbidity rate of 15.4 per cent ) . There was only one readmission which occurred three and one-half weeks after discharge for intestinal obstruction . Early appendectomy in children with a presumed diagnosis of either acute or perforated appendicitis result ed in low morbidity rates and is more cost effective than nonoperative management proposed by others due to shorter hospitalization and no planned readmission
There was no consistency among the protocol s regarding length of antibiotic use , discharge criteria , or use of home antibiotics following discharge .
Limiting duration of antibiotic use to3 days did not appear to be associated with higher rates of intraabdominal abscess or wound infection .
In the absence of higher-level evidence , shortening of antibiotic regimens following surgery for pediatric complicated appendicitis appears to be safe
The suitable duration of antibiotic use following appendectomy for advanced appendicitis in children is still debated .