SynthesisWorld journal of emergency surgery : WJES2024
A meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis comparing nonoperative versus operative management for uncomplicated appendicitis: a focus on randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in World journal of emergency surgery : WJES, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of antibiotic therapy versus no antibiotics on nonoperative management outcomes in uncomplicated appendicitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of colorectal disease · 2026Pooled it
- Non-operative management of uncomplicated appendicitis in children, why not? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2025Pooled it
- Endoscopic direct-vision therapy vs. antibiotics for acute uncomplicated appendicitis: a retrospective cohort study.International journal of colorectal disease · 2026Article
- Non-operative Management of Uncomplicated Appendicitis: A Review of Indications, Safety, and Clinical Algorithms.Cureus · 2026Review
- Appendicitis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025Review
- Value of Early Kinetics of Procalcitonin with Point-of-Care Test to Predict Postoperative Abscess Following Non-Complicated Acute Appendicitis: A Pilot Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Concurrent Acute Appendicitis and Cholecystitis: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Evidence-based, cost-effective management of acute appendicitis: An algorithm of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery emergency general surgery algorithms work group.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2025Article
- C-Reactive Protein, International Normalized Ratio, and Fibrinogen in Diagnostic Scale of Complicated Acute Appendicitis.Clinics and practice · 2025Article
- Patient reported outcomes after laparoscopic appendectomy for acute appendicitis.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2024Article
- Incidence and clinical features of endometriosis in 2484 consecutive female patients undergoing appendectomy for suspected appendicitis-a retrospective analysis.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2024Article
- Validation of Nonselective Conservative Treatment for Pediatric Acute Appendicitis.Pediatrics international : official journal of the Japan Pediatric SocietyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this study is to provide a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing conservative and surgical treatment in a population of adults with uncomplicated acute appendicitis.
methodsA systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL. We have exclusively incorporated randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Studies involving participants with complicated appendicitis or children were excluded. The variables considered are as follows: treatment complications, complication-free treatment success at index admission and at 1 year follow-up, length of hospital stay (LOS), quality of life (QoL) and costs.
resultsEight RCTs involving 3213 participants (1615 antibiotics/1598 appendectomy) were included. There was no significant difference between the two treatments in terms of complication rates (RR = 0.66; 95% CI 0.61-1.04, P = 0.07, I
conclusionsAs further large-scale trials have been conducted, antibiotic therapy proved to be safe, less expensive, but also less effective than surgical treatment. In order to ensure well-informed decisions, further research is needed to explore patient preferences and quality of life outcomes.
Indexed as
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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.