title: Recurrence of acute appendicitis after non-operative treatment of appendiceal abscess in children: a single-centre experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of recurrence of acute appendicitis after initial successful non-operative treatment of appendiceal abscess in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was an observational cohort study of children treated non-operatively for appendiceal abscess at a large tertiary referral centre from 2006 to 2010. The primary outcome was recurrence of acute appendicitis. Secondary outcome variables were re-admission and interval appendectomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-nine patients were discharged after successful non-operative treatment of appendiceal abscess. The median age was 10.1 (1.3-16.3) years. Nine patients underwent surgery during the follow-up period. Five patients were re-admitted with ongoing symptoms leading to an appendectomy. They all returned shortly after discharge and are considered failures of initial treatment. Two of 82 patients returned with a new episode of acute appendicitis during the trial period. Hence, the recurrence rate was 2.4 % during 5.1 years of follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data support the strategy of not performing an interval appendectomy after successful non-operative treatment with antibiotics of an appendiceal abscess in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, jan.f.svensson@karolinska.se.
authors.forename: Jan F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.forename: Rasmus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wester
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002429:Cecal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents