Is nonperforated pediatric appendicitis still considered a surgical emergency? A survey of pediatric surgeons

John C. Dunlop, James A. Meltzer, Ellen J. Silver, Ellen F. Crain

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To describe the beliefs and preferences of pediatric surgeons regarding the emergent nature of nonperforated appendicitis. Methods: An electronic mailing was sent to all 1052 members of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) inviting participation in a 26-item survey, which was administered by Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com). Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests were used for bivariate analysis. Spearman's rho was used for nonparametric correlation. Results: Four hundred eighty-four pediatric surgeons (46%) responded to the survey. Few respondents (4%) considered nonperforated appendicitis to be a surgical emergency. A minority (14%) would come in from home to perform an overnight appendectomy. Most (92%) believe that postponing overnight appendectomy until daytime does not result in a clinically significant increase in perforation. Respondents endorsed surgeon fatigue (56%) and limited operating room availability (56%) most often among factors that would make them more likely to postpone surgery. Sixty-eight percent reported no departmental guideline regarding delay of overnight appendectomy. Conclusions: Most pediatric surgeons in our study believe nonperforated appendicitis is not a surgical emergency and prefer to postpone overnight appendectomy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)567-571
Number of pages5
JournalAcademic Pediatrics
Volume12
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2012

Keywords

  • appendicitis
  • children
  • delay
  • emergency
  • overnight

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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