title: Meta-analysis of the therapeutic effects of antibiotic versus appendicectomy for the treatment of acute appendicitis.
abstract: Appendicectomy has been the gold standard treatment of acute appendicitis for more than a century, while nonoperative therapies, including antibiotics, have acquired increased interest in recent years. The present meta-analysis aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of antibiotics versus appendicectomy for the treatment of acute appendicitis. Medline, Embase and The Cochrane Library databases were searched. Prospective randomized controlled trials that compared antibiotic treatment with surgery were included. The outcomes evaluated included the time of hospital stay, complications and time to work. There were no statistically significant differences between the antibiotic and appendicectomy groups with regard to the time of hospital stay and complications. However, the time to work was significantly longer in the appendicectomy group when compared with the antibiotic group. In addition, the therapeutic effects of antibiotics and appendicectomy were comparable for the treatment of acute appendicitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital to Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510655, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital to Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510655, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital to Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510655, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xing-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital to Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510655, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital to Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510655, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: acute appendicitis; antibiotic; appendicectomy; meta-analysis; nonoperative