At least in the short term, using antibiotics to treat appendicitis worked as well as surgical removal of the appendix for most patients in the PCORI-funded CODA trial, as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Health outcomes associated with each treatment were similar. More than 70 percent of patients on antibiotics avoided having surgery and missed less time away from work or school in the three months post-treatment. However, nearly 30 percent who received antibiotics ultimately needed surgery. CODA was conducted at 25 sites nationwide and involved a wider range of patients than previous studies, making its results more broadly applicable to typical patients with appendicitis.

Reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine, the PROPEL Study found that an intensive healthy lifestyle intervention—which included health coaches embedded in primary care practices working with patients to develop healthy habits—resulted in patients losing significantly more weight than those who received usual care from their primary care clinics, and they kept more weight off at two years later. The results show that successful weight loss can be achieved in primary care settings in a highly underserved population who have significant barriers to obtaining health care services.