Evaluation of Drain Insertion After Appendicectomy for Complicated Appendicitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the comparative outcomes of drain insertion versus no drain after appendicectomy for complicated appendicitis. A systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane Library and Scopus was conducted, and all studies comparing drain versus no drain after appendicectomy for complicated appendicitis were included. Abdominal collection, surgical site infection (SSI), bowel obstruction, faecal fistula, paralytic ileus, length of hospital stay (LOS) and mortality were the evaluated outcome parameters for the meta-analysis.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Mode of Presentation and Stage at Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer.

Aim: This study compares the stage at the presentation of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) before and after introducing COVID-19 restrictions and the mode of presentation.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study comparing the incidence of CRC, TNM stage and mode of presentation in the pre-COVID and COVID cohorts at a single UK Trust. All patients discussed at the CRC multidisciplinary team (MDT) from March 2017 to March 2021 were included and split into two cohorts; the pre-COVID group from 01/03/2017 to 29/02/2020 and the COVID group from 01/03/2020 to 28/02/2021.

Systematic review and meta-analyses of cholecystectomy as a treatment of biliary hyperkinesia.

Biliary hyperkinesia is typically diagnosed in patients with biliary-like pain and no evidence of gall stones on imaging modalities but who have had biliary scintigraphy scan (HIDA) that shows ejection fraction ≥ 80%. This study aims to identify whether the removal of the gall bladder can alleviate the symptoms associated with biliary hyperkinesia. Systematic search following PRISMA guidelines was done from inception to January 2020 using PubMed/Medline, OVID, Embase, Cochrane database of systemic reviews, Cochrane central register of controlled trials, The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) and Cochrane library databases.