Post-procedural Drainage versus no Drainage in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy at DHQ Hospital Charsadda, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the treatment of choice for symptomatic gall stones but controversy regarding the routine use of drainage after elective LC still exists. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of post-procedural drainage versus no drainage after simple laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The postoperative complications were also evaluated in both groups after the LC procedure.
Material and Methods: This Randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in patients who underwent Laparoscopic cholecystectomy according to a pre-set inclusion criterion. Ninety-three patients were randomly assigned into group A (with drainage tube) and group B (without drainage tube) using sealed opaque envelopes containing computer‐generated random numbers. Primary (like duration of hospital stay, Postoperative pain) and secondary outcomes (like postoperative complications) were noted in both groups. Chi-square, Fischer exact test and Mann witney U test were applied as appropriate and statistical significance was established at P < .05.
Results: The number of patients with hospital stay exceeding two days were more in group A (n=23; 51.1%) than B (n=13; 28.8%) (P < .05). Group A presented with more postoperative complications but differences between the two groups were statistically non-significant. Both Groups experienced a high level of pain at six hours of surgery followed by progressive decrease in severity at 24 and 48 hours, respectively (P=.06).
Conclusions: Post-procedural drain placement after laparoscopic cholecystectomy has no advantages as there is no significant difference in post-operative complications and duration of hospital stay in drainage versus no drainage groups.