Aim: We aimed to compare conservative treatment with surgery for uncomplicated pediatric appendicitis to estimate effectiveness and safety. Methods: Data recorded until September 2018 were searched, and relevant academic articles from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and other libraries were selected. STATA version 13.0 (Stata Corporation, TX, USA) was used for statistical analysis. Results: We identified nine eligible papers. The study reported a significant difference in the success rate of treatment in 1 month and in 1 year, and no difference in the incidence of complications. The patients with fecaliths showed low treatment efficacy in conservative treatment group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Standardized conservative treatment as inpatients for pediatric appendicitis is safe and feasible. Appendectomy was the better choice for patients with fecaliths.
Keywords: appendectomy; conservative treatment; fecaliths; meta-analysis; pediatric appendicitis.