Anal fissure (chronic).

INTRODUCTION

Anal fissures are a common cause of anal pain during, and for 1 to 2 hours after, defecation. The cause is not fully understood, but low intake of dietary fibre may be a risk factor.

METHODS AND OUTCOMES

We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of surgical treatments for chronic anal fissure? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to January 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 nine 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 the following interventions: anal advancement flap, anal stretch/dilation, and internal anal sphincterotomy.