{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T09:19:14Z","timestamp":1787649554369,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Same-day discharge after laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated appendicitis has been proposed as a strategy to reduce hospital costs without compromising safety, but evidence in pediatric patients remains limited. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of pediatric patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated appendicitis, comparing same-day and next-day discharge. Baseline differences were addressed using 1:2 propensity score matching. Costs were analyzed using linear regression with cluster-robust standard errors, and inverse probability of treatment weighting was used as a sensitivity analysis. Results: Among 102 patients (37 same-day discharge and 65 delayed discharge), 28 same-day discharge patients were matched to 36 delayed-discharge controls. Same-day discharge was associated with a mean reduction in total cost of \u20ac319.9 (95% CI: \u2212\u20ac413.6 to \u2212\u20ac226.2; p &lt; 0.0001), mainly explained by lower admission-related costs, with no significant difference in outpatient consultation costs. Sensitivity analysis using inverse probability weighting in the full cohort showed a similar estimate (\u2212\u20ac311.7; 95% CI: \u2212\u20ac421.1 to \u2212\u20ac202.3; p &lt; 0.0001). Complications were rare and similar in both groups (1\/28 vs. 1\/36), which limited formal comparison of complication risk. Conclusions: Same-day discharge after laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated appendicitis was associated with lower healthcare costs, largely due to reduced admission-related costs, with no apparent signal of increased complications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13091136","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T08:00:48Z","timestamp":1787644848000},"page":"1136","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Same-Day Versus Next-Day Discharge After Laparoscopic Appendectomy for Uncomplicated Appendicitis in Children: A Propensity Score-Matched Cost Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4062-8348","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucas","family":"Moratilla-Lape\u00f1a","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Surgery Department, Hospital Universitario La Paz, 28046 Madrid, Spain"},{"name":"Pediatric Surgery Department, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Toledo, 45007 Toledo, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jose Luis","family":"Encinas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Surgery Department, Hospital Universitario La Paz, 28046 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Esmeralda","family":"Kuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Surgery Department, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Toledo, 45007 Toledo, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6998-5229","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco","family":"Hern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Surgery Department, Hospital Universitario La Paz, 28046 Madrid, Spain"},{"name":"La Paz Research Institute (Idipaz), Hospital Universitario La Paz, 28046 Madrid, Spain"},{"name":"European Reference Network on Transplantation in Children (TransplantChild ERN), 28046 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1186\/s13017-015-0053-2","article-title":"Acute Appendicitis: Proposal of a New Comprehensive Grading System Based on Clinical, Imaging and Laparoscopic Findings","volume":"10","author":"Gomes","year":"2015","journal-title":"World J. 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