Timing of percutaneous cholecystostomy tube removal: systematic review

Percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) is an effective procedure to treat moderate or severe acute cholecystitis (AC) in high-risk patients. The ideal timing of the drainage removal is argued. The aim of this study is to analyze our experience and perform a systematic review about the ideal timing of a percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) tube removal.

A web-based literature search was performed and studies reporting the length of the catheter maintenance were analyzed. A regression analysis between the timing of tube removal and morbidity, mortality and disease recurrence was performed. Patients who underwent PC as definitive treatment of moderate or severe acute cholecystitis at our institution between 2011 to 2015 were analyzed. Clinical and technical success, morbidity, mortality and recurrence rates were retrospectively retrieved from a perspective database.

The systematic review yield to analyze 50 studies. None of them focused exclusively on outcome measures in relation to PC tube duration. The timing of the drain removal varied from 2 to 193 days. Regression analyses showed no correlation between length of tube maintenance and the considered outcomes. We studied 35 patients. The median age was 78 (range 52-94) and 88.5% had an ASA score ≥3. P-POSSUM estimated morbidity was 68.7% (range 34.3-99.0) and mortality was 15.8% (range 1.9-80.2). Clinical success was 97.1%. Procedure-related morbidity was 34.3%: 2 abscess, 1 bleeding, 1 biloma and 8 tube dislodgment. Biliary leakage was not observed. The observed 30-day overall mortality was 11.4%. The median follow-up was 16 months. Recurrence rate was 12.1%.

PC is an effective procedure in high-risk patients with moderate or severe AC. At the moment there is no evidence whether the duration of PC tube may affect outcome.