Comparison of emergency cholecystectomy and delayed cholecystectomy after percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage in patients with acute cholecystitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy and percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) are common treatments for patients with acute cholecystitis. However, the safety and efficacy of emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy (ELC) and delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy (DLC) after PTGBD in patients with acute cholecystitis remain unclear. The PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched through October 2019. The quality of the included nonrandomized studies was assessed using the Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies (MINORS). The meta-analysis was performed using STATA version 14.2. A random-effects model was used to calculate the outcomes. A total of fifteen studies involving 1780 patients with acute cholecystitis were included in the meta-analysis. DLC after PTGBD was associated with a shorter operative time (SMD − 0.51; 95% CI − 0.89 to − 0.13; P = 0.008), a lower conversion rate (RR 0.43; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.69; P = 0.001), less intraoperative blood loss (SMD − 0.59; 95% CI − 0.96 to − 0.22; P = 0.002) and longer time of total hospital stay compared to ELC (SMD 0.91; 95% CI 0.57–1.24; P < 0.001). There was no difference in the postoperative complications (RR 0.68; 95% CI 0.48–0.97; P = 0.035), biliary leakage (RR 0.65; 95% CI 0.34–1.22; P = 0.175) or mortality (RR 1.04; 95% CI 0.39–2.80; P = 0.933). Compared to ELC, DLC after PTGBD had the advantages of a shorter operative time, a lower conversion rate and less intraoperative blood loss.