Can Physicians Delay Appendectomy for One Night in Children With Acute Appendicitis?

In pediatrics, appendicitis is the leading cause of emergency surgery. It was previously believed that postponing the surgery could lead to the appendix rupture. Children with this condition can be difficult to diagnose. The evidence regarding the necessity of an immediate appendectomy is a topic of debate. In this study, we evaluated the medical records of patients who were diagnosed with acute appendicitis to determine whether postponing appendectomy for one night is safe or not.

This study involved 534 individuals diagnosed with acute appendicitis, who were separated into two groups: those who underwent an appendectomy immediately (within 8 hours) and those who had a delayed procedure (between 8-18 hours). We recorded and compared demographic data, symptoms, laboratory results, time of symptoms, hospitalization duration, surgery duration, overall time, length of stay after surgery, and any other complications that occurred between the two groups.

The rate of surgical site infection (SSI) did not differ significantly between the groups (2.8% vs 4.2%, P = 0.74). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the risk of perforation between the time of surgery in our study (21.9% vs 19.8%, P > 0.05).

Our findings suggest that there is no increased risk of complications such as perforation when appendectomy is delayed for up to 18 hours.