Long-term mortality and intestinal obstruction after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Long-term outcomes of cholecystectomy are largely unknown though it is a common procedure in general surgery. We aimed to investigate the long-term mortality rate and incidence of intestinal obstruction after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This systematic review and meta-analysis was reported according to the PRISMA 2020 and AMSTAR guidelines. A protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020178906). The databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL were last searched on February 9, 2022 for original studies on long-term complications with n > 40 and follow-up ≥ 6 months. Outcomes were long-term mortality and incidence of intestinal obstruction, and meta-analyses were conducted. Risk of bias was assessed with Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and Cochrane “Risk of bias”-tool according to study design. We included 41 studies that reported long-term follow-up on 1,000,534 patients. Of these, 38 studies reported on mortality (514,242 patients) that ranged from 0 to 32%. Meta-analysis estimated a long-term mortality rate of 2.0% (95% CI 1.7–2.3%) after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Five studies including 486,292 patients reported on intestinal obstruction that ranged from 0 to 6%. Meta-analysis estimated a long-term rate of intestinal obstruction of 1.3% (95% CI 0.8–1.8%). Long-term mortality after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 2%. The incidence of long-term intestinal obstruction after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 1.3%. •This systematic review covered >1 million patients undergoing cholecystectomy.•Low long-term mortality after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 2%.•Long-term intestinal obstruction after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 1.3%.