Systematic review of surgical interventions for Crohn's anal fistula.

"Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest."

"This study was undertaken as part of work funded by the Bowel Disease Research Foundation."

"A systematic literature search for all publications that reported a Crohn's anal fistula‐specific outcome, or surgical treatment outcomes of Crohn's anal fistula published between 1995 and March 2016 was performed. Since 1995, supporting medical therapy has changed significantly. MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were searched using a predefined and registered (PROSPERO database, CRD42016050316) search protocol. Original studies were eligible for inclusion. Hand‐searching was limited to bibliographies from identified systematic reviews following experiences in the pilot searches. Conference proceedings were included when related full text could be identified. Only papers in English were included. Manuscripts that reported outcomes of Crohn's anal fistula as part of all fistula types, those with fistula related to ileoanal pouch only, or outcomes of Crohn's rectovaginal fistula only, were excluded."