Complicated appendicitis increases the risk of postoperative intra-abdominal abscess. Treatment of complicated appendicitis are usually with a postoperative course of intravenous antibiotics. There is need for a study confirming the results of retrospective studies showing that a postoperative course of oral antibiotics is not inferior to intravenous antibiotics after laparoscopic surgery for complicated appendicitis.~The PIPA trial will be a prospective, multicenter, cluster randomized cluster crossover non-inferiority study designed to test whether a three-day postoperative course of per oral antibiotics is non-inferior to a three-day postoperative course of intravenous antibiotics as standard care after laparoscopic surgery for complicated appendicitis in regards to the risk of postoperative intraabdominal abscess formation within 30-days. Participating hospitals will be randomized to either a 6-month period with a per oral antibiotic regime followed by a 6-month period with an intravenous antibiotic regime, or 6-month period with an intravenous antibiotic regime followed by a 6-month period with a per oral antibiotic regime for the postoperative treatment after laparoscopic surgery for complicated appendicitis. Primary outcome will be the incidence of intra-abdominal abscess by the postoperative day 30.
The PIPA trial is a prospective, multicentre, cluster randomized cluster crossover non-inferiority study. We aim to test whether a three-day postoperative course of per oral antibiotics is non-inferior to a three-day postoperative course of intravenous antibiotics as standard care after laparoscopic surgery for complicated appendicitis in regards to the risk of postoperative intraabdominal abscess formation within 30-days