Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38362753›Full record

ArticleAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England2025

Laparoscopic versus open appendicectomy performed by adult general surgeons in pre-teenage years children: a single-centre experience.

E Hannan, Emy Lim, G Feeney, L O'Brien, J C Coffey, C Peirce

Open access · hybridAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 22% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. 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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

E HannanUniversity Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle, Ireland.
Emy LimUniversity Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle, Ireland.
G FeeneyUniversity Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle, Ireland.
L O'BrienChildren's Health Ireland at Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland.
J C CoffeyUniversity Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle, Ireland.
C PeirceUniversity Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle, Ireland.
University Hospital Limerick · IEUniversity of Limerick · IEChildren's Health Ireland at Crumlin · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe utilisation of laparoscopic appendicectomy (LA) in children remains contentious despite the well-recognised advantages of laparoscopic surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare intraoperative and postoperative outcomes in LA and open appendicectomy (OA) when performed by adult general surgeons outside specialist paediatric practice in younger children.

methodsA retrospective review of all patients under the age of 13 who underwent LA for suspected appendicitis over a two-year period was conducted. These were case-matched with an equivalent number of patients who underwent OA during the same period. Intraoperative and postoperative outcomes were compared.

resultsFifty-one patients underwent LA during the study period. Patient demographics were statistically equivalent with the OA cohort. A statistically significant longer median operating time (58 vs 49min) was noted in the LA group, but intraoperative outcomes were otherwise comparable. LA, when compared with OA, was associated with a significant improvement in postoperative length of stay (2 vs 3 days,

conclusionLA can be safely delivered by adult general surgeons to younger paediatric populations outside the setting of paediatric specialist practice, with statistically significant improvements in postoperative outcomes noted when compared with OA. These findings are of importance in the current healthcare context where adult general surgeons continue to perform the majority of paediatric appendicectomies.

Indexed as

AppendectomyAppendicitisLaparoscopyLength of StayPostoperative ComplicationsAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleOperative TimePatient ReadmissionRetrospective StudiesSurgeonsTreatment OutcomeAcute appendicitisLaparoscopic appendicectomyOpen appendicectomyPaediatric appendicectomy

Identifiers

PMID38362753
PMCPMC11658871
OpenAlexW4391882491

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.