The study intends to compare the results of two surgical methods to remove the appendix in children with appendicitis. Specifically, up to 500 children over 3 years will be placed in two groups where the only difference in treatment is open or laparoscopic (scope) operation. Each group will be tracked for their baseline characteristics, events during operation and recovery, pain medication requirements, duration of hospital stay, and patient/family satisfaction. The investigators hypothesize that their will be no difference in the parameters measured between the techniques of appendix removal.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
400
appendix removal via scope
open operation for removal of appendix
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States
Emanuel Children's Hospital
Portland, Oregon, United States
Oregon Health and Sciences University
Portland, Oregon, United States
Surgical complications, length of stay, pain medication requirements
Time frame: within 30 days of intervention
Patient/family satisfaction
Time frame: within 7 days of intervention
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