Zhang S, et al. – This meta–analysis assessed the impact of different surgical procedures on perforated appendicitis in pediatric population. Investigations disclosed that laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) was associated with lower incidence of wound infections and bowel obstruction. However, a higher rate of intra–abdominal abscess was found with LA compared to open appendectomy (OA).

Methods

• For this research, studies were identified through a computerized literature search of Pubmed, Embase, Ovid, the Cochrane Colorectal Cancer Group Controlled Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Library database, and Web of Science.
• 2 reviewers independently evaluated the quality of each study and abstracted outcome data.
• Data were extracted comparing laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) and open appendectomy (OA) in pediatric population with regard to several postoperative variables. 
• They synthesized published data using fixed–effect models, expressing results as relative risk (RR).

Results

• Only 9 eligible studies were selected.
• Statistically significant differences between “LA” and “OA” groups were found for wound infection (RR=0.88), intra–abdominal abscess (RR=1.38), and bowel obstruction (RR=0.79).