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Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart for the systematic review of literature

included median with range, a dedicated mathematical conversion to mean and standard deviation was
carried out using methods from Wan et al. .
[11]

Forest plots were constructed for meta-analysis on pre-determined outcomes by evaluating the total
colectomies combined. A meta regression analysis and leave-one-out analysis were performed for the
primary outcome to identify potential heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed using Begg’s and Egger’s
test.

RESULTS
Included articles
The flow chart on search results of the literature in accordance with the PRISMA statement are displayed
in Figure 1. The search identified a total number of 3,237 potential articles published between 1991 and
2019. A total of 42 articles met initial inclusion criteria and full-text articles were reviewed. After thorough
process of literature review and discussion between two independent reviewers, 24 papers were determined
to be eligible for data extraction and subsequent statistical analysis. Cross-checking of all references of the
included papers did not identify any additional studies.

The included studies for final analysis resulted in a total of 2,674 patients who had undergone laparoscopic
colectomy. This was split into 1,412 patients (52.8%) in the intervention group (i.e., intracorporeal
anastomosis) and 1,262 (47.2%) in the control group (i.e., extracorporeal anastomosis). The study design
and characteristics of each study included are described in Table 1.

Two papers were identified to have been published by the same author, Vignali et al. [12,13] . After a thorough
review, both studies were considered for inclusion in our analysis as they were of different study design,
[12]
with Vignali et al. evaluating the outcomes in a specific patient cohort, the obese population, as evident