Messages• We developed an online interactive tool that allows users to obtain descriptive and analytic results for a systematic review comparing at least three treatments in various populations.• In a limited evaluation, stakeholders were satisfied with the functionality of the tool and found it easy to use.• We organized stakeholder feedback in three themes, namely expository, analytic, and information-sharing augmentations.We propose that a roadmap to realizing these augmentations involves the following: (i) integrating analytic capabilities, (ii) incorporating ways to assess the tradeoffs between several distinct benefits and harms of interventions with minimal assumptions, (iii) defining an information technology standard for systematic reviews, and (iv) developing a rigorous representation of evidence synthesis objects as mathematical graphs.iii

Abdominal pain is a common presenting symptom for patients seeking care at emergency departments, with approximately 3.4 million expected cases per year in the United States.1 Appendicitis is a frequent cause of abdominal pain and occurs in approximately 8 to 10 percent of the population over a lifetime.2,3 Appendicitis has its highest incidence between the ages of 10 and 30 years. The ratio of incidence in men and women is 3:2 through the mid-20s and then equalizes after age 30. Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency, with over 250,000 appendectomies performed annually in the United States. The risk of acute appendicitis in pregnant women is not much lower than that of the general population, making appendicitis the most common nonobstetric emergency during pregnancy.4-7 Untreated appendicitis can lead to perforation of the appendix, which typically occurs within 24 to 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.8 Perforation of the appendix can cause intra-abdominal infection, sepsis, intraperitoneal abscesses, and rarely death.4 In order to avoid the sequelae of perforated appendicitis, a low percentage of “negative” appendectomies (i.e., removing a normal noninflamed appendix in patients mistakenly diagnosed with appendicitis) is generally accepted from a surgical standpoint. Effective Health Care Program