Antibiotics are better cure for appendix than surgery

A new study suggests that two third of appendix removal operations may be needless and could be avoided by treating patient with antibiotics.

A team of researchers observed that doctors often wrongly believe that surgery is sole remedy to treat appendicitis.

The study also suggests that in uncomplicated appendicitis, where the organ has not become infected or perforated, antibiotics are a far better option than surgery.

A team of researchers at Nottingham University conducted this study on 900 patients suffering from this disease.

Half of the patients were administered antibiotics while the rest underwent surgery.

The results showed 63 percent success rate among patients administered with antibiotics.

Operation was needed in only 20 percent cases, the researchers said.

"The role of antibiotic treatment in acute uncomplicated appendicitis may have been overlooked mainly on the basis of tradition rather than evidence," the Sun reports.

"Antibiotics are both effective and safe as primary treatment for patients with uncomplicated acute appendicitis," the report said.

An infected or inflamed appendix has to be treated or surgically removed, before it bursts. A burst appendix can cause deadly infection.

Seven percent of British population is affected with appendicitis.

British Medical Journal has published this study

--with inputs from ANI