Cochrane · systematic review · CD015038
Appendectomy versus antibiotic treatment for acute appendicitis
Doleman, B, Fonnes, S, Lund, JN, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2024 · Cochrane Library
ColorectalAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
7
current version
GRADE rated
7
No studies
0
Included studies
NR
No studies 0 · 0%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 6 · 85.7%Low 1 · 14.3%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Antibiotics compared with surgery for uncomplicated appendicitis
Population: adults with uncomplicated appendicitis
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Mortality Antibiotics vs surgery | OR 0.51 [0.05, 4.95] | 5 studies · 2377 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, indirectness |
Success of treatment Antibiotics vs surgery | RR 0.91 [0.87, 0.96] | 7 studies · 2471 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency |
Appendectomy in the antibiotic group Antibiotics vs surgery | no estimate extracted | 9 studies · 1396 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency |
Clostridium difficile diarrhoea Antibiotics vs surgery | OR 0.97 [0.24, 3.89] | 3 studies · 1552 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Intra‐abdominal abscess or collection Antibiotics vs surgery | RR 1.58 [0.61, 4.07] | 6 studies · 1831 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Reoperation Antibiotics vs surgery | OR 0.13 [0.01, 2.16] | 1 study · 492 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Length of hospital stay (days) Antibiotics vs surgery | MD 0.54 [0.06, 1.01] | 11 studies · 3192 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency |