Hoelzer et al listed a number of criteria that should be met when deciding to stop antibiotic therapy for a child following complicated appendicitis. The authors are from Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Delaware.
Patient selection: child following complicated appendicitis (perforated or gangrenous)
Therapy: broad-sprectrum antibiotics, usually given for 3 to 14 days
Criteria for stopping antibiotics - all of the following:
(1) The child is eating.
(2) The child is afebrile (temperature < 38°C)
(3) The percent band forms in the peripheral blood smear is <= 3%.
A child who meets all of these criteria has a low risk of recurrent intra-abdominal abscess if the antibiotics are discontinued. The parents or guardian should consider to monitor the child for signs of any problems.
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