Published online Nov 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i33.10208
Peer-review started: June 5, 2021
First decision: June 27, 2021
Revised: August 1, 2021
Accepted: October 14, 2021
Article in press: October 14, 2021
Published online: November 26, 2021
Processing time: 170 Days and 2.1 Hours
Evidence from revious studies shown that endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy (ERAT) is an effective treatment for acute appendicitis.
However, different studies reported conflicting outcomes regarding the effectiveness of ERAT in comparison with laparoscopic appendectomy (LA).
This meta-analysis was conducted to compare the effectiveness of ERAT with LA.
Randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies of ERAT for acute uncomplicated appendicitis were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the WanFang Database, and Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP).
10 randomized controlled studies (RCTs) and 2 case-control studies were included in the current systematic review. Firstly, the length of hospitalizations [WMD = -1.15, 95%CI: (-1.99, -0.31); P = 0.007] was shorter than LA group. Secondly, the level of post-operative CRP [WMD = -10.06, 95%CI: (-17.39, -2.73); P = 0.007], TNF-α [WMD = -7.70, 95%CI: (-8.47, -6.93); P < 0.001], and IL-6 Levels [WMD = -9.78, 95%CI: (-10.69, -8.88); P < 0.001; P < 0.001] in ERAT group was significantly lower than LA group. Thirdly, ERAT group had a lower incidence of intestinal obstruction than LA group. [OR = 0.19, 95%CI: (0.05, 0.79); P = 0.020].
Based on our meta-analysis, it is found that ERAT has its own unique advantages of being more effective, safer compared with LA.
As little study compared LA with antibiotics treatment, future study should focus on comparing the effectiveness between LA and antibiotics treatment.