Table 1.

Study inclusion criteria for the systematic review and meta-analysis.

Criterion	Included
Population	Age: ≥18 years
	Race: any
	Gender: male or female
	Studies conducted in humans only
	Patients receiving elective or emergency stapled and hand-sewn ileocolic anastomoses
Type of studies	RCTs comparing mechanical stapling and hand-sewn suturing related to colon resection and colonic anastomosis, meta-analysis, systematic reviews, comparative prospective nonrandomized observational studies, and comparative retrospective reviews
Language	English only
Country	Any
Sample size	Any
Intervention	Mechanical stapling versus hand-sewn suturing
Primary outcome	Overall anastomotic leak rates