Appendicitis study to improve variation in diagnosis and management

Bunbury General Surgeon Dr Tina Dilevska is bringing a rural perspective to a major international study that aims to improve surgical outcomes for appendicitis patients.

Project AlliGatOr – or the Appendicitis Global Outcomes Study – is a prospective, multicentre, cohort study involving more than 30,000 patients worldwide who are undergoing surgery to have their appendix removed (appendicectomy).

“While final numbers are yet to be finalised, currently there have been 32,512 patients enrolled, from 1248 hospitals across 111 countries,” Dr Dilevska said.

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies worldwide.

The study’s primary aim is to identify areas for system strengthening in emergency surgery using appendicitis as a tracer condition with a pre-defined key performance measurement set.

The study is also evaluating global variations in the presentation, diagnosis, management, access to minimally invasive surgery, and outcomes of patients who have surgery for suspected acute appendicitis.

As the WA State Primary Investigator, Dr Dilevska initiated and is overseeing Project AlliGatOr at WA Country Health Service sites in Bunbury, Albany and Geraldton.

The research has seen hospital teams around the world collect data on consecutive patients of all ages.

Patients are followed up with after 30 days and outcome data collected, which will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication.

“We have a range of medical students, junior doctors, and training surgical registrars involved with the data collection over the February to May 2025 period,” Dr Dilevska said. 

“I think it's great opportunity for our doctors to be involved in such a collaborative study, where we are contributing to the scientific community. It also opens doors for participation in other future studies.”