Cohort cholecystectomies in the Brazilian public system: is access to laparoscopy universal after three decades?

Objective: videosurgery in Brazil started in 1990 with the performance of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, being included by the public health system in 2008. We evaluated the current situation of the use of this technology in the Unified Health System (SUS - Sistema Único de Saúde).

Methods: from 2013 to 2019, 1,406,654 patients registered at the SUS Informatics Department (DATASUS) were analyzed to calculate the rate of laparoscopic cholecystectomies (LC) in relation to open cholecystectomies (OC). Patient characteristics, disease presentation and postoperative mortality were evaluated.

Results: the LC rate reached 41.5% (growth of 68%) with no decrease in the absolute number of OC. In University Hospitals (UH), the LC rate reached 91.96%. The open technique in emergencies was more associated with male patients, aged 60 years or older, with prolonged hospitalization and in the ICU. Those undergoing LC were less predisposed to postoperative death, both electively (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.42 - 0.56; NNT=20) and urgently (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.20 - 0.25; NNT ≅1), providing a protective effect.

Conclusion: despite the increase in the indication of LC, the open technique during the years studied remained stable and the most used in the public health system in Brazil. The effectiveness of public health policies to shorten the complete implementation of videosurgery in SUS needs to be investigated in future epidemiological studies, as well as its impact on postoperative morbidity and mortality.