Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of included trials in the meta-analysis
| Ref. | Year | Technique (n) | Study protocol | Mean age (yr) | Sex (M/F) | Grade of hemorrhoids | Follow-up time (mo) |
| Arslani et al[1] | 2012 | SH (46) | RUT | 52 (17-72) | 21/25 | 3 | 24 |
| LH (52) | 50 (18-78) | 23/29 | |||||
| Basdanis et al[18] | 2005 | SH (50) | RUT | 46 (25–72) | 29/21 | 3 and 4 | 6-clinical, 18 (12–24)- telephone |
| LH (45) | 44 (22–69) | 25/20 | |||||
| Chen et al[19] | 2007 | SH (44) | RUT | 25-81 (48) | 26/18 | 3 | 6 |
| LH (42) | 23-85 (46) | 24/18 | |||||
| Kraemer et al[20] | 2005 | SH (25) | RUT | 58 (40–71) | 14/11 | 3 and 4 | 1.5 |
| LH (25) | 48 (28–82) | 13/12 | |||||
| Sakr et al[21] | 2010 | SH (34) | RBT | 43.7 ± 4.66 (29–56) | 21/13 | 3 and 4 | 18 |
| LH (34) | 39.3 ± 4.68 (33–52) | 19/15 |
RUT: Randomized unblinded trial; RBT: Randomized blinded trial; SH: Stapled hemorrhoidopexy; LH: LigaSure hemorrhoidectomy.