Early Versus Delayed Surgical Repair and Referral for Patients With Bile Duct Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective: The aim of the study was to systematically review and meta-analyze the available evidence regarding the association between timing of repair or referral and clinical outcomes in bile duct injury (BDI). Background: Surgical repair is recommended for patients with complex BDI following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, consensus on the timing of surgery or referral to a specialist is lacking. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus for eligible studies. The coprimary outcomes were repair failure in follow-up and postoperative complications. We pooled odds ratios (ORs) using random-effects models. Results: We included 32 studies. The rate of repair failure was significantly higher for early versus delayed repair [OR 1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14–2.37, P= 0.007], lower for early versus delayed referral (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.17–0.45, P
Source: Annals of Surgery - Category: Surgery Tags: META-ANALYSES Source Type: research