CODA appendicitis trial shows risks and benefits of treating appendicitis with antibiotics

(Boston Medical Center) Antibiotics may be a good choice for some, but not all, patients with appendicitis, according to results from the Comparing Outcomes of antibiotic Drugs and Appendectomy (CODA) Trial reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings indicated that antibiotics were not worse than surgery when measuring overall health status, allowing most people to avoid an operation in the short term.