Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34689186›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of surgery2021

Nationwide paediatric cohort study of a protective association between allergy and complicated appendicitis.

E Omling, M Salö, P Stenström, J Merlo, J Gudjonsdottir, N Rudolfson, L Hagander

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Article
  3. Appendicitis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

E OmlingDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Lund, Paediatrics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-0426-9819
M SalöDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Lund, Paediatrics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
P StenströmDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Lund, Paediatrics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
J MerloDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Social Epidemiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
J GudjonsdottirDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Lund, Paediatrics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
N RudolfsonDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Lund, Paediatrics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
L HaganderDepartment of Clinical Sciences in Lund, Paediatrics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Lund University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn a nationwide cohort the potentially protective association between allergy and complicated appendicitis was analysed, and the influence of seasonal antigens, antihistamine treatment, and timing of allergy onset assessed.

methodsSome 1 112 571 children born between 2000 and 2010 were followed from birth until the end of 2014. A cross-sectional analysis of appendicitis cases, with comparison of allergic versus non-allergic children for absolute risk and odds of complicated appendicitis was first undertaken. This was followed by a longitudinal analysis of children with allergy and matched controls who had never had an allergy, for incidence rate and hazard of subsequent complicated or simple appendicitis.

resultsOf all children, 20.4 per cent developed allergy and 0.6 per cent had appendicitis during follow-up. Among children with appendicitis, complicated appendicitis was more common among non-allergic children (18.9 per cent, 948 of 5016) than allergic children (12.8 per cent, 173 of 1351) (P < 0.001), and allergic children had a lower adjusted odds of complicated appendicitis (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.80, 95 per cent c.i. 0.67 to 0.96; P = 0.021 ). The risk of complicated appendicitis among children with manifest allergy was reduced by one-third in the longitudinal analysis (incidence rate 0.13 versus 0.20 per 1000 person-years; hazard ratio (HR) 0.68, 95 per cent c.i. 0.58 to 0.81; P < 0.001), whereas the risk of simple appendicitis remained unchanged (incidence rate 0.91 versus 0.91; HR 1.00, 0.94 to 1.07; P = 0.932 ). Seasonal antigen exposure was a protective factor (adjusted OR 0.82, 0.71 to 0.94; P = 0.004) and ongoing antihistamine medication a risk factor (adjusted OR 2.28, 1.21 to 4.28; P = 0.012).

conclusionChildren with allergy have a lower risk of complicated appendicitis, but the same overall risk of simple appendicitis. Seasonal antigen exposure reduced, and antihistamine treatment increased, the risk of complicated disease.

Indexed as

AllergensAppendicitisCase-Control StudiesChildChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHistamine AntagonistsHumansHypersensitivityIncidenceLongitudinal StudiesMaleRisk FactorsSwedenAllergensHistamine Antagonists

Identifiers

PMID34689186
PMCPMC10364888
OpenAlexW3210101801

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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.