title: Appendicitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix that may lead to an abscess, ileus, peritonitis, or death if untreated. Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency. The current standard treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis is usually surgery, but there has been increasing evidence published on the use of antibiotics.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of surgery compared with antibiotics for acute appendicitis? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to May 2014 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found four studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of surgery (including laparoscopic and open appendicectomy) compared with antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Wessex Deanery, UK.
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nugent
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001062:Appendectomy; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D001065:Appendix / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy