Development and Feasibility Testing of a Decision Aid for Acute Appendicitis

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Surgical Decision Making
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Patients with acute appendicitis face a choice between surgery and antibiotic management.
• Effective decision-making tools are needed in the emergency department (ED) to present these options clearly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and assess the feasibility of a novel decision aid for patients with acute appendicitis in the ED.
• To evaluate the impact of the decision aid on patient awareness of treatment options and decisional conflict.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post survey analysis was conducted comparing patients before and after the implementation of a new decision aid.
• The study measured patient awareness of antibiotic treatment and decisional conflict using the decisional conflict scale.

Main Results:

• The decision aid increased patient awareness of antibiotic treatment options from 75% to 100%.
• Decisional conflict scale scores remained similar between the pre and post-implementation groups, suggesting feasibility without increasing conflict.

Conclusions:

• The novel appendicitis decision aid was successfully integrated into clinical practice.
• The tool effectively informed patients about diverse treatment options, supporting further large-scale testing for standardized appendicitis care.