Effect of liver cirrhosis on the short-term outcomes of patients who underwent cholecystectomy

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of liver cirrhosis on short-term outcomes after cholecystectomy. Methods PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to find eligible studies from inception to November 1st, 2022. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (Cls) were pooled up. The Risk of Bias In Non-randomised Studies-of Interventions (ROBINS-I) grade was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Stata SE 16 was used for data analysis. Results A total of 7 studies involving 69162 patients were included in this study. The results showed that the cirrhotic group had a more elderly, more male, more previous history of abdominal surgery, more laparoscopic, more conversion, longer hospital stay, lower white blood cells count, lower albumin, higher aspartate transaminase (AST), higher alanine transaminase (ALT), higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and longer prothrombin time (PT) than the non-cirrhotic group. As for short-term outcomes, the cirrhotic group had more major complications (OR=3.38, 95% CI=1.67 to 6.82, I2=83%, P=0.00), and a higher mortality rate (OR=8.74, 95% CI=3.04 to 25.09, I2=0%, P=0.00) than the non-cirrhotic group. Conclusion Patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent cholecystectomy had an increased risk of postoperative major complications and mortality. Thus, surgeons should carefully assess the risk of cirrhosis before surgery.