Same-day discharge after appendicectomy

When I had an uncomplicated appendicectomy in 1969, I stayed on the children’s ward for a week. Since then, as surgical and anaesthetic techniques have improved, post-operative lengths-of-stay have reduced dramatically. Also, day-case surgery has now become the norm for many elective childhood operations that previously meant an overnight stay, such as tonsillectomy and orchidopexy. There is evidence that same-day discharge (SDD) is safe and popular in adults. So why shouldn’t children go home on the same day as their appendicectomy?

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program –Pediatric (NSQIP-P) gathered data from over 80 hospitals throughout the US, to compare retrospectively outcomes after uncomplicated appendicectomy observed in those discharged the same day with those who stayed 1 to 2 days (Cairo S et al. JAMA Surg 2017. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2017.2221). Most (95%) were done laparoscopically. Those with complications (rupture, peritonitis) were excluded as were those who stayed...

from Archives of Disease in Childhood current issue http://ift.tt/2xblmzD