SynthesisBMC surgery2019
Meta-analysis of studies comparing conservative treatment with antibiotics and appendectomy for acute appendicitis in the adult.
Synthesis in BMC surgery, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of the efficacy and safety of antibiotic treatment and appendectomy for acute uncomplicated appendicitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC surgery · 2023Pooled it
- Varying negative appendectomy rates after laparoscopic appendectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2023Pooled it
- Nonoperative vs Operative Management of Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA surgery · 2022Pooled it
- Are the immature granulocyte count and percentage important in continue medical treatment in acute appendicitis? A prospective, randomized, and controlled study.Ulusal travma ve acil cerrahi dergisi = Turkish journal of trauma & emergency surgery : TJTES · 2022Trial
- A Huge Mass Secondary to Acute Simple Appendicitis.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Article
- Global Incidence of Appendectomy: A Population-Based Study of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2026Article
- Acute appendicitis in geriatric population: a clinical and prognostic comparison of surgical intervention and conservative management.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Complicated appendicitis: value of inflammatory markers based on EAES 2015 guidelines.Surgical endoscopy · 2025Article
- Indication of conservative treatment by antibiotics for uncomplicated and complicated acute appendicitis.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2024Article
- Retrospective analysis of the incidence of appendiceal neoplasm and malignancy in patients treated for suspected acute appendicitis.BMC surgery · 2024Article
- Review
- APENDIC-RADS: an ultrasound reporting system for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2024Article
- Endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy: current and the future.Gastroenterology report · 2024Review
- Intraoperative bacterial cultures fail to reliably predict the bacterial spectrum encountered during infectious complications after appendicitis.Updates in surgery · 2024Article
- Article
- Are Antibiotics the New Appendectomy?Cureus · 2023Review
- The efficacy of hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocytes, and platelets (HALP) score in signifying acute appendicitis severity and postoperative outcomes.Updates in surgery · 2023Article
- Value of fecal calprotectin in prediction of acute appendicitis based on a proposed model of machine learning.Ulusal travma ve acil cerrahi dergisi = Turkish journal of trauma & emergency surgery : TJTES · 2023Article
- Prediction of Perforated and Nonperforated Acute Appendicitis Using Machine Learning-Based Explainable Artificial Intelligence.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Techniques for mesoappendix transection and appendix resection: insights from the ESTES SnapAppy study.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAppendectomy is considered the first treatment choice for appendicitis. However, controversy exists since conservative therapy is associated with fewer complications than appendectomy for patients with acute appendicitis (AA). This meta-analysis aimed to compare the outcomes between conservative therapy and appendectomy in the management of adult AA.
methodsA literature search was performed to screen eligible clinical studies. Subgroup analyses of the uncomplicated population, complicated population and mixed population of randomized clinical trials were subsequently performed. Clinical outcomes included the overall effective rate of treatment, complication rate, relapse rate (reoperation rate) and overall length of stay (LOS).
resultsEleven trials totalling 2751 patients (conservative = 1463, appendectomy = 1288) were analysed. Patients receiving conservative treatment had a lower overall effective rate (OR: 0.11 ~ 0.17) and complication rate (OR: 0.21 ~ 0.51). The conservative group had a higher reoperation rate (5.6, 95% CI: 3.1% ~ 10.2%) than the appendectomy group (OR: 9.58 ~ 14.29). Conservative treatment was associated with a shorter overall length of stay (0.47 day, 95% CI: 0.45 ~ 0.5 day) than appendectomy.
conclusionsFor both uncomplicated and complicated adult AA, non-operative management with antibiotics was associated with significantly fewer complications and a shorter length of stay but a lower effective rate and higher relapse rate.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.