Factors influencing choice of medical vs. surgical treatment of pediatric appendicitis

PurposeTo examine what proportion of caregivers, if given a choice, would choose medical versus surgical treatment of appendicitis and what factors would be important in their decision.MethodsA survey was devised and given to the caregivers of children presenting to the pediatrician for a routine visit in community and academic pediatric clinics. The survey presented a summary of outcomes after medical (non-operative) and surgical treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis. Participants were then asked to choose medical versus surgical treatment if their child were to develop appendicitis. They were also asked to rate the importance of certain factors in their decision ? 1 being “not important” and 5 being “very important”.ResultsFour hundred surveys were distributed with an 86.2% (345/400) response rate. Six percent (21/342) of respondents reported a history of appendicitis and 49.4% (168/340) reported having known someone who had appendicitis. The majority of respondents, 85.3% (284/333), were mothers. A minority of respondents, 41.7% (95% CI: 36.7, 47.0), chose medical treatment over surgery for appendicitis. There was no statistical difference in the proportion of mothers (41.6%) versus fathers who chose medical treatment (41.3%). Caregivers who chose medical treatment were more likely to rate time in hospital (p = .008) and time out of school (p = 05) as important in decision making when compared with those who chose surgery. Those who chose surgical treatment were more likely to rate risk of recurrent appendicitis (p < .001) as important to decision making. In the multivariate analysis, those who rated time in hospital as very important had more than twice the odds of choosing medical therapy (OR 2.20, p = 0.02) when compared with those who rated it as less important. Not knowing someone who has had appendicitis was significantly associated with choosing medical therapy when compared with those who do know someone who has had appendicitis, OR 2.3, p = .002. Rating pain as very important was also significantly associated with choosing medical therapy, when compared to those rating pain 1–3, OR 3.38, p = .03.ConclusionsIn this survey of caregivers of children presenting for routine care, 41.7% would choose medical, or non-operative, therapy for their children with acute appendicitis. The risk of recurrence, time in hospital, and time out of school, pain, and knowing someone who has had appendicitis were all important factors that families may consider when making a decision. These data may be useful for surgeons counseling patients on which treatment to pursue.     

Controlled clinical trials in cystic fibrosis--are we doing better?

We have previously reported the time trends, design and interventions in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in cystic fibrosis (CF) from 1961 through 1997 [Cheng K, Smyth RL, Motley J, O'Hea U, Ashby D, Randomised controlled trials in cystic fibrosis (1966-1997) categorized by time, design, and intervention. Pediatr Pulmonol 2000, 29:1-7.]. We maintain an ongoing register of all RCTs and controlled clinical trials (CCTs) in CF and have noted that in the five years since 1997 there has been a 48% increase in published trials. We aimed to assess whether this increase has been associated with an improvement in design quality. All RCTs and CCTs from 1961-2002 were assessed. Two epochs were then compared, 1961-1997 and 1998-2002. For each trial we recorded the design, participant numbers and the intervention studied. 261 trials in 1998-2002 were compared with 544 trials in 1961-1997. Comparing the two epochs a similar proportion of trials were parallel, double-blind and placebo controlled; also the median number of participants was similar. In the later epoch 25% of trials were multicentre, compared with 11% previously. Whilst this recent increase in clinical trials in CF is welcome, this has not been associated with improvements in quality. The trend for an increasing proportion of trials to be multicentre is encouraging. There are however, still deficiencies in the design of clinical trials in CF.     

Regulation of fibroblast-induced collagen gel contraction by interleukin-1β

Fibroblasts incorporated within collagen gels induce a cell-mediated contraction of the gel to form a three-dimensional, tissue-like structure by a mechanism thought to mimic wound contraction in vivo . In this study a gel contraction model was used to investigate the ability of fibroblasts derived from adult gingiva, adult skin and fetal skin to organise a collagen matrix. In addition the effects of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) on the contraction process was also investigated. Over the concentration range 5-50 U/ml, IL-1β induced a statistically significant inhibition of gel contraction in all fibroblast cell types ( P <0.05), although fetal fibroblasts appeared least responsive and gingival fibroblasts most responsive to the inhibitory effects of this cytokine. Comparison of gel contraction by the different fibroblast strains indicated that fetal and gingival fibroblasts shared similar contraction kinetics. For the adult skin fibroblasts, three of five strains studied showed significantly diminished levels of gel contraction compared to fetal and gingival cells. This apparent difference in fibroblast phenotype may, at least in part, explain the fetal-like wound healing pattern seen in the oral mucosa.     

Effect of maternal and infant covariates on sibship correlation in birth weight

Birth weight on 12,644 singleton infants from 6,196 sibships born in Maryland between 1980 and 1984 were used to estimate the effects of nine maternal and infant covariates on the sibship correlation in birth weight. Assuming a homogeneous correlation across all families, the estimated intraclass correlation was 0.4664 (+/- 0.0099). This high sibship correlation makes it possible to predict, with reasonable accuracy, the birth weight of a child given information on previous sibs, as well as covariates on the mother and/or infant pertinent to a given pregnancy. The reduction in variance associated with incorporating information on the nine covariates used here was approximately equal to that obtained by conditioning on a single previous sib. Testing for heterogeneity in correlation among different groups of families showed that a crude measure of parity (first live birth vs. other), time between births, mother's marital status, and maternal age at the birth of the last child significantly influenced the sibship correlation in birth weight.     

The effect of etching on bacterial microleakage of an adhesive composite restoration.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of bacterial microleakage, pulp inflammation and necrosis associated with dentine etching treatments prior to restoration are not known. Consequently, to resolve some of the controversy surrounding the effects and importance of vital dentine etching, the authors investigated these factors. METHODS: 110 standardised class V cavities were cut into buccal dentine, without exposing the pulp of teeth scheduled for extraction for orthodontic reasons. Cavities were either left unetched, or etched with the non-equivalent treatments of phosphoric acid gel for 60s or Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for 30s, prior to placement of composite resin. Teeth were collected and pulp responses were evaluated according to ISO guidelines, using pathohistomorphometric analysis and ANOVA statistics. RESULTS: Etching was found to be correlated to bacterial microleakage (p=0.0001) and tertiary dentine formation (p=0.0023). Bacterial microleakage was correlated to inflammatory activity (p=0.0001). The frequency of bacterial microleakage was: no etching (65%), EDTA (51%) and phosphoric acid (PA) (20%). SIGNIFICANCE: Vital dentine etching treatment is of extreme importance for the placement of RC to minimise bacterial microleakage. PA etching proved to be more effective at preventing bacterial microleakage than non-etching, and etching with EDTA.     

Operations on the saccus endolymphaticus and vestibular nerve: have they fulfilled their promise?

The rationale for operations on the saccus and vestibular nerve in patients incapacitated by Meniere's disease as a replacement for total labyrinthectomy, has been the expectancy that less radical procedures will protect these patients from total auditory incapacity. Aware of postoperative hearing losses in some patients after 3 years, we have studied the results in 21 Shambaugh saccus decompression (SD) and 29 middle fossa vestibular nerve section (VNS) operations, in order to assess the claims made for these procedures. We found that while control of vertigo was similar to that reported elsewhere, worse hearing (AAOO criteria) developed in many cases. With SD this increased from 14% at 1 year to 58% at 10 years, and with VNS it increased from 17% at 1 year to 48% at 10 years, when the worse preoperative audiogram was used. Only 17% of SD and 11% VNS ears with serviceable best preoperative hearing had retained this at 10 years. Nineteen percent developed audiometric evidence of contralateral disease during the first 10 postoperative years. It is concluded that although, regrettably, neither of these surgical therapies appears to have the capability of preventing the progress of hearing loss, the reality of bilateral disease justifies the continued use of SD or VNS by adequately trained surgeons.     

Angiogenesis induction and regression in human surgical wounds

Angiogenesis in human wound healing is not well characterized, with only sparse information available regarding the maturation and fate of vessels formed as a consequence of human tissue repair. Therefore, this study aimed to establish the temporal profile of angiogenesis in human dermal wounds. Punch biopsies were obtained under local anesthesia from 45 patients following breast surgery. Scars were predominantly between 2 and 52 weeks after surgery but in five patients were > 52 weeks. Control samples were taken from breast skin peroperatively (n = 24). Quantification of vascular density was performed using the Chalkley grid, following antibody staining for platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule. Vascular patterns, wound cellularity and morphology were also determined. Cumulative microvessel density was increased in all samples when compared to controls (p < 0.05). This was greatest 2 to 24 weeks following surgery 17 (15-21) median (range), decreased thereafter, but remained elevated compared to controls even in the mature scars > 52 weeks. Control tissue showed an ordered morphological arrangement of dermal structures, collagen, and elastic fibers. However, wounding resulted in marked structural distortion for up to 15 weeks. In conclusion, this study shows for the first time the prolonged persistence of both microvessels and cellularity (fibroblastic cells), in addition to structural distortion in human dermal wounds, which is in contrast to previous in vitro and in vivo studies.