Endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy versus laparoscopic appendectomy versus open appendectomy for acute appendicitis: a pilot study

Background An increasing number of studies have shown the merits of endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy (ERAT) in diagnosing and treating acute uncomplicated appendicitis. However, no related prospective controlled studies have been reported yet. Our aim is to assess the feasibility and safety of ERAT in the treatment of acute uncomplicated appendicitis. Methods In this open-label, randomized trial, participants were randomly allocated to the ERAT group, laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) group and open appendectomy (OA) group. The primary outcome was the clinical success rate of the treatment. Intention-to-treat analysis was used in the study. Results The study comprised of 99 patients, with 33 participants in each group. The clinical success rate was 87.88% (29/33), 96.97% (32/33) and 100% (33/33) in the ERAT, LA and OA group, respectively. In the ERAT group, 4 patients failed ERAT due to difficult cannulation. In LA group, 1 patient failed because of abdominal adhesion. There were no significant differences among the three treatment groups regarding the clinical success rate (P = 0.123). The median duration of follow-up was 22 months. There were no significant differences (P = 0.693) among the three groups in terms of adverse events and the final crossover rate of ERAT to surgery was 21.21% (7/33). Conclusion ERAT can serve as an alternative and efficient method to treat acute uncomplicated appendicitis. Trial registration The study is registered with the WHO Primary Registry-Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900025812).