| Methods |
Randomized controlled trial |
| Participants |
Patients with chronic anal fissure |
| Interventions |
Anal stretch (59) versus lateral subcutaneous internal sphincterotomy (39) |
| Outcomes |
Persistence of the fissure and major incontinence
Anal stretch persistence risk = 0.05; incontinence risk = NS
Sphincterotomy persistence risk = 0.05; minor incontinence risk = NS |
| Notes |
|
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
High risk |
randomisation by hospital registration number ‐ inadequate |
| Other bias |
High risk |
insufficient length of follow‐up |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias)
All outcomes |
High risk |
inadequate |
| Drop‐outs
All outcomes |
High risk |
drop out rate 14% |
