The application of clinical pathways in laparoscopic cholecystectomy

• Published in: Hepatobiliary & pancreatic diseases international 2014-08, Vol.13 (4), p.348-353
• Main Authors: Zhang, Min, Zhou, Shu-Yang, Xing, Mei-Yuan, Xu, Jian, Shi, Xiao-Xiao, Zheng, Shu-Sen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chi-Square Distribution; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic - adverse effects; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic - economics; clinical pathways; complications; Cost Savings; Critical Pathways - economics; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Hospital Costs; Humans; laparoscopic cholecystectomy; Length of Stay; Postoperative Complications - economics; Postoperative Complications - therapy; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1499-3872
• DOI: 10.1016/S1499-3872(14)60279-4

Background Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is one of the most frequent abdominal surgical procedures. The present meta-analysis aimed to estimate the clinical effects of implementing a clinical pathway for LC compared with standard medical care by evaluating the length of hospital stay, costs, and the outcomes of patients undergoing LC. Data Sources Data were extracted from the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese Medical Citation Index (CMCI), Chinese Medical Current Contents (CMCC), and China BioMedical Literature Database (CBM). We also searched the reference lists of the relevant articles and conference articles. Only randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials published from 1980 to 2013 were included. We did not set restrictions on language and country of publications. All of the data were evaluated and analyzed by two reviewers independently with RevMan software (version 5.0). Results A total of 7 trials with 1187 patients were included. The patients who underwent LC with clinical pathway had shorter hospital stay [weighted mean difference=−1.90, 95% CI: −2.65 to −1.16, P