Emergency appendectomy versus elective appendectomy following conservative treatment for acute appendicitis: a multicenter retrospective clinical study by the Japanese Society for Abdominal Emergency Medicine

Purpose To establish the best treatment strategy for acute appendicitis. Methods We collected data on 2142 appendectomies performed in 2017 and compared the backgrounds and surgical outcomes of patients who underwent early surgery (ES) ( 48 h). We performed a risk factor analysis to predict postoperative complications and subgroup analysis to propose a standard treatment strategy. Results The incidence of postoperative complications was significantly higher in the ES group than in the non-ES group, and significantly lower in the laparoscopic surgery group than in the laparotomy group. Surgical outcomes, including the incidence of postoperative complications, were comparable after acute surgery (