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IMPORTANCEIn the Comparison of Outcomes of Antibiotic Drugs and Appendectomy (CODA) trial, which found antibiotics to be noninferior, approximately half of participants randomized to receive antibiotics had outpatient management with hospital discharge within 24 hours. If outpatient management is safe, it could increase convenience and decrease health care use and costs. OBJECTIVE To assess the use and safety of outpatient management of acute appendicitis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study, which is a secondary analysis of the CODA trial, included 776 adults with imaging-confirmed appendicitis who received antibiotics at 25

Objective: To compare secondary patient reported outcomes of perceptions of treatment success and function for patients treated for appendicitis with appendectomy vs. antibiotics at 30 days. Summary Background Data: The Comparison of Outcomes of antibiotic Drugs and Appendectomy trial found antibiotics noninferior to appendectomy based on 30-day health status. To address questions about outcomes among participants with lower socioeconomic status, we explored the relationship of sociodemographic and clinical factors and outcomes. Methods: We focused on 4 patient reported outcomes at 30 days: high decisional regret, dissatisfaction with treatment, problems performing usual activities, and missing >10 days of work. The randomized (RCT) and observational cohorts were pooled for exploration of baseline factors. The RCT cohort alone was used for comparison of treatments. Logistic regression was used to assess associations. Results: The pooled cohort contained 2062 participants; 1552 from the RCT. Overall, regret and dissatisfaction were low whereas problems with usual activities and prolonged missed work occurred more frequently. In the RCT, those assigned to antibiotics had more regret (Odd ratios (OR) 2.97, 95% Confidence intervals (CI) 2.05–4.31) and dissatisfaction (OR 1.98, 95%CI 1.25–3.12), and reported less missed work (OR 0.39, 95%CI 0.27–0.56). Factors associated with function outcomes included sociodemographic and clinical variables for both treatment arms. Fewer factors were associated with dissatisfaction and regret. Conclusions: Overall, participants reported high satisfaction, low regret, and were frequently able to resume usual activities and return to work. When comparing treatments for appendicitis, no single measure defines success or failure for all people. The reported data may inform discussions regarding the most appropriate treatment for individuals. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02800785.

Despite its great importance in surgical approaches to intestinal resection, little definitive information is available on human gut tract length. Previous studies have correlated various measures with sex, age, weight, height, and “ethnic background.” Better knowledge of these relationships may aid in avoidance of surgical complications such as the nutritional disorder “short bowel syndrome.” This study examined length of the intestinal tract and its components (small intestine and colon) in 10 donor bodies. The small intestine was measured from pyloric sphincter to ileocecal junction while the large intestine was measured from caecum to sigmoid colon. Results indicate strong correlation (r=0.827) between colon length and body height from cranial vertex to heel, likely a result of the colon's function in water absorption. This relationship was stronger than the ones among total gut length, small intestine length, and body height. In particular, the weakest correlation was between small intestine length and height (r=0.337), suggesting that the combined lengths of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum are not closely related to body size. Indeed, this measure had the highest coefficient of variation (0.26) while colon length showed the lowest (0.085). Future research will test hypotheses related to population differences in gut length and its physiologic consequences.

SUNY Downstate Medical Center has one of the most diverse student bodies in the country, yet medicine today does not reflect this ethnic diversity. To ensure that underrepresented students receive exposure to the allied health fields, the Downstate Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) recruits 30 minority high school students from Brooklyn to attend lectures on physiology, perform anatomical dissections, and learn clinical skills, all facilitated by medical students. A five question pre‐ and posttest evaluating the different activities is given at every session to quantify student learning. The average pretest score was 27.33% (STD=1.711), rising to 80.74% in the posttest (STD=1.369), with an average improvement of 58.5%. The perceived value of the program as a critical confidence builder for students' long‐term career goals is demonstrated by students' active engagement and pertinent questions. The strength of the education outreach program lies with medical students leading the program using anatomy as the driver. The success of this anatomy outreach program lies not only in the short‐term gains for individual students but, more importantly, in its benefit to society in approximately a decade when the young students complete their educations and bring greater diversity to the allied health professions.