Duration of post-operative antibiotic treatment in acute complicated appendicitis: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Appendicitis is the most frequent aetiology of acute abdominal pain requiring surgical treatment, with an estimated lifetime risk between 7% and 8%. Antibiotics play a substantial role in treatment, and there is considerable debate regarding the duration of antibiotics in treating appendicitis.

Methods: We searched multiple databases from inception until June 2019 for peer-reviewed studies that compared different durations of antibiotic treatment after appendicectomy for acute complicated appendicitis in adults.