The effectiveness and safety of sialendoscopy for sialolithiasis in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose Sialendoscopy is a new, minimally invasive method that is becoming increasingly more popular than traditional methods for the treatment of sialolithiasis. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the effectiveness and safety of this method in children with sialolithiasis are investigated. Methods Inclusion criteria were children with sialolithiasis. The information sources were databases MEDLINE and PubMed Central (through PubMed), ScienceDirect, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), citation indexes Scopus and Google Scholar, trial registries, and “gray literature”. The last search was performed on September 18, 2022. The risk of bias in included studies was assessed using ROBINS-I tool (Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions). The pooled proportion of weighted means was calculated for the quantitative synthesis of available data. Results The effectiveness of the method was estimated at 95.5% (95% CI 89.8–99.3%), from 13 studies including 133 cases. The safety was estimated at 97.2% (95% CI 91.8–100%), from 10 studies including 113 cases. Conclusion The limitations of this study, briefly summarized, are the small number of included studies, the fact that they are mostly retrospective, the difficult application of the guidelines suggested by the PRISMA statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and Cochrane handbook due to the nature of this specific condition and intervention, and the difficulty in assessing reporting bias. The results of the current study indicate that sialendoscopy is an effective and safe method for the treatment of sialolithiasis in children and should be implemented in daily clinical practice.