• Thomas R McCarty, James Farrelly, Basile Njei, Priya Jamidar, and Thiruvengadam Muniraj.
• Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy. Brigham and Women's Hospital. Boston, MA.
• Ann. Surg. 2021 Apr 1; 273 (4): 667675667-675.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to perform a structured systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness and complication rate of cholecystectomy deferral versus prophylactic cholecystectomy among patients post-endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy for common bile duct stones.BackgroundAlthough previous reports suggest a decreased risk of biliary complications with prophylactic cholecystectomy, biliary endoscopic cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy may provide a role for deferring cholecystectomy with the gallbladder left in situ.MethodsSearches of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were performed through August 2019 in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. Measured outcomes included: mortality, recurrent biliary pain or cholecystitis, pancreatitis, cholangitis, and eventual need for cholecystectomy. Random effects models were used to determine pooled effect size and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsNine studies (n = 1605) were included. A total of 53.8% (n = 864) patients had deferred cholecystectomy post-sphincterotomy. Deferral cholecystectomy as compared to prophylactic cholecystectomy resulted in a significant increased risk of mortality [odds raio (OR) 2.56 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.54-4.23); P < 0.0001; I2 = 18.49]. Patients who did not undergo prophylactic cholecystectomy developed more recurrent biliary pain or cholecystitis [OR 5.10 (95% CI 3.39-7.67); P < 0.0001; I2 = 0.00]. Rate of pancreatitis [OR 3.11 (95% CI 0.99-9.83); P = 0.053; I2 = 0.00] and cholangitis [OR 1.49 (95% CI 0.74-2.98); P = 0.264; I2 = 0.00] was unaffected. Overall, 26.00% (95% CI 14.00-40.00) of patients with deferred prophylactic cholecystectomy required eventual cholecystectomy.ConclusionsProphylactic cholecystectomy remains the preferred strategy compared to a deferral approach with gallbladder in situ post-sphincterotomy for patients with bile duct stones. Future studies may highlight a subset of patients (ie, those with large balloon biliary dilation) that may not require cholecystectomy.Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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