Clinical Research Directory

Feasibility and Safety of a Pediatric ERAS Protocol for Laparoscopic Appendectomy

Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency in children. Despite the widespread adoption of laparoscopic appendectomy, postoperative care still varies widely between institutions, with prolonged fasting, opioid-based analgesia, delayed feeding, and routine drain placement being common. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is an evidence-based, multidisciplinary care pathway that has been shown in adults - and increasingly in children - to reduce length of stay, opioid consumption, and postoperative complications. This single-center, prospective, single-arm cohort feasibility study (IDEAL Stage 2a) tests whether a comprehensive 20-item pediatric ERAS protocol, adapted for minimally invasive appendectomy in children aged 5-18 with non-complicated acute appendicitis (ASA I-II), can be implemented with high fidelity and acceptable safety in a tertiary academic pediatric surgery department. We aim to enroll 100 patients to obtain \~80 evaluable cases. The primary endpoint is the global ERAS compliance rate (target ≥80%, with the lower bound of the 95% confidence interval staying above 70%). Co-primary safety endpoints include Clavien-Dindo ≥III complications and 30-day unplanned readmission rates, both targeted at \<5%. Secondary endpoints include time to medical readiness for discharge, actual length of stay, opioid sparing, and parent-reported outcomes. The study includes a structured run-in phase (first 5 patients) with explicit decision logic to either continue with the protocol unchanged or revise it before full enrollment. Audit-and-feedback cycles every 20 patients monitor compliance drift. The findings will inform a definitive institutional clinical guideline and provide hypothesis-generating data for future multi-center trials.

Piperacillin/Tazobactam Versus Ceftriaxone and Metronidazole for Children With Perforated Appendicitis

The ALPACA-MC trial is a blinded, multicentre randomized controlled trial comparing two postoperative antibiotic treatments for children undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy for perforated appendicitis. Perforated appendicitis occurs when the appendix has developed a hole or has burst. The study will include 180 children from several pediatric hospitals. After surgery, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either piperacillin/tazobactam (PT) or ceftriaxone plus metronidazole (CM). The child, family, healthcare team, and researchers assessing the outcomes will not know which treatment was received. The main purpose of the study is to determine whether PT reduces hospital length of stay compared with CM. The study will also compare other important outcomes, including surgical site infections, the need for additional imaging or procedures, emergency department visits, and hospital readmissions. Children will be followed for 30 days after surgery. At 30 days, families will be contacted to ask about any additional complications and how well the child has recovered. This will include questions about returning to school, sports or other physical activities, and the child's overall health and quality of life. The results of this study will help determine which antibiotic treatment is most appropriate for children with perforated appendicitis and may help guide future clinical practice and antibiotic stewardship.

Effect Of Specimen Extraction Site And Local Anesthesia On Postoperative Pain In Laparoscopic Appendectomy

The aim of this prospective, randomized study is to evaluate the effects of two different specimen extraction sites (periumbilical versus left lower quadrant) and the routine application of port-site local anesthesia infiltration on postoperative pain and complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy for acute appendicitis."

Laparoscopic Appendectomy: Outcomes of 10 mmHg Versus 15 mmHg Intra-abdominal Pressure

This prospective, randomized controlled trial aims to compare the clinical outcomes of laparoscopic appendectomy performed under two standard pneumoperitoneum pressures (10 mmHg and 15 mmHg). The primary objective is to evaluate postoperative pain, while secondary outcomes include operative time, conversion rate, time to first flatus and bowel movement, length of hospital stay, postoperative ileus, and intra-abdominal abscess formation. The study will determine whether lower-pressure pneumoperitoneum provides comparable surgical conditions while improving postoperative recovery.

Functional Outcomes of Open vs Laparoscopic Appendectomy

this study compare between open and laparoscopic appendectomy

Pre-incisional Infiltration With Ropivacaine Plus Triamcinolone for Relieving Postoperative Pain After Laparoscopic Surgery

Incisional infiltration is the simplest, safest, and most effective anesthesia method for preventing incision pain after laparoscopic surgery, but even using long-acting local anesthetics, the effectiveness of postoperative analgesia can only last for a relatively short period of time. Studies have shown that up to 80% of patients experience postoperative pain following laparoscopic surgery due to inflammation caused by surgical incisions and surrounding tissues, necessitating pharmacological relief. Inflammatory mediators released from the soft tissues around laparoscopic incisions not only significantly alters the chemical microenvironment at the peripheral terminals of nociceptors, directly inducing pain, but also sensitizes afferent fibers, contributing to peripheral sensitization. Preemptive incisional infiltration using local anesthetics with corticosteroids which have potent local anti-inflammatory properties may play a key role in preventing or reducing postoperative pain. The objective of this trial is to determine whether preemptive incisional infiltration with ropivacaine plus triamcinolone is superior to ropivacaine alone in relieving postoperative pain for adults undergoing laparoscopic surgery. We also compare the effects of the two intervention measures on postoperative pain management, patient safety, and recovery quality.

The Efficacy and Safety of Loxoprofen Sodium Patch in Relieving Postoperative Pain After Laparoscopic Surgery

Studies have shown that up to 80% of patients experience postoperative pain following laparoscopic surgery due to inflammation caused by surgical incisions and surrounding tissues, necessitating pharmacological relief. Inflammatory mediators released from the soft tissues around laparoscopic incisions not only significantly alters the chemical microenvironment at the peripheral terminals of nociceptors, directly inducing pain, but also sensitizes afferent fibers, contributing to peripheral sensitization. The investigators conducted a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled clinical study to explore the use of Loxoprofen Sodium Patch for preoperative local incision analgesia in laparoscopic surgery patients. The investigators aim to observe whether this method can effectively alleviate postoperative incision pain, reduce the dosage of postoperative analgesics and the side effects caused using postoperative analgesics, improve patient satisfaction, and provide new ideas for postoperative analgesia in laparoscopic surgery patients, promoting rapid recovery after laparoscopic surgery.