Appendicitis

The appendix is a small, tube-like organ attached to the first part of the large intestine. It is located in the lower right part of the abdomen. A blockage inside of the appendix causes appendicitis. The blockage leads to increased pressure, problems with blood flow, and inflammation. 

Programs + Services

Gastroenterology Program

Tufts MC’s department of gastroenterology and hepatology is highly experienced in diagnosing and treating a wide range of gastrointestinal and liver conditions.
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Research + Clinical Trials

Complicated And Simple Appendicitis: Restrictive or Liberal Post-operative Antibiotic eXposure (CASA RELAX) Using Desirability of Outcome Ranking (DOOR) and Response Adjusted for Duration of Antibiotic Risk (RADAR): A Randomized Controlled Trial

This is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing a short vs. long of post-operative antibiotic course in patients with simple or complicated appendicitis based on desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) using a response adjusted to duration of antibiotic risk (RADAR).
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Fetal outcomes among pregnant emergency general surgery patients. A prospective multi-center evaluation of pregnant patients undergoing emergency general surgery

Approximately 1/500 pregnant require non-obstetric surgery. Surgical care for the pregnant women raises concern for complications adversely pregnancy outcomes. The most common reason for surgery is acute appendicitis followed by gallbladder disease. Some studies have investigated the impact of a subset of emergency general surgery on maternal outcomes during pregnancy but none have looked at the array of emergency general surgery operations on fetal outcome. In recent decades, the advent of laparoscopic techniques has improved recovery time in the general population and has become the standard of care for some disease processes. Studies have reported safe maternal outcomes for laparoscopic interventions. Despite the common incidence of non-obstetric surgery among pregnant women little is known regarding fetal outcome and the impact of laparoscopic interventions vs. traditional open procedures. Even less is known about the role of nonoperative management of general surgical disease in the pregnant population.   
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