Effect of Apical Patency on Postoperative Pain: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the available evidence regarding the effect of apical patency versus nonpatency on postendodontic pain in adult patients. Methods: The study adhered strictly to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE via Ovid, Google Scholar, and the Web of Science databases were searched up to April 2018 to retrieve the most relevant studies. Two authors evaluated the studies for eligibility criteria and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane tool. The weighted means were calculated using a fixed effects model. When statistically significant (P