Laparoscopic versus Conventional Surgery for Acute Cholangitis of Severe Type: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: Currently, the choice between laparoscopic surgery and conventional laparotomy in the surgical treatment of acute cholangitis of severe type (ACST) is debatable. This study compared the clinical efficacy of these two surgical methods through a meta-analysis based on relevant clinical randomized controlled trials (RCT) on ACST.

Methods: We systematically searched several databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WangFang) for RCT on the surgical treatment of ACST between 2010 and 2022. Relevant data were extracted, and a meta-analysis was performed using the statistical software Stata 16.0.

Results: From initial 1089 studies retrieved, 15 studies ( = 1247 patients) were eligible. The total number of patients was 1247, of whom 635 were classified in the treatment group (laparoscopic surgery) and 612 patients in the control group (conventional laparotomy). This meta-analysis showed that compared with conventional laparotomy, laparoscopic surgery was associated with higher effective rate (OR = 3.808, 95% CI [2.383, 6.085], < 0.001), lower incidence rate of complications (OR = 0.192, 95% CI [0.139, 0.265], < 0.001), shorter operation duration (SMD = -3.274, 95% CI [-4.503, -2.045], < 0.001), and shorter postoperative hospital stay (SMD = -2.432, 95% CI [-2.988, -1.877], < 0.001). Further, the indicators of symptomatic relief (anus exhaust time, jaundice relief time, gastrointestinal function recovery time, and abdominal pain relief time) and inflammatory levels (white blood cell count, alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin level, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level) in the treatment group were better than those in the control group.

Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery was associated with significant improvement in treatment efficiency, reduced risk of complications, and better treatment outcomes in patients with ACST.