Bile Duct Injuries after Cholecystectomy: An Individual Patient Data Systematic Review

Background: Post-cholecystectomy bile duct injuries (BDIs) represent a challenging complication, with negative impacts on clinical outcomes. Several surgical and endoscopic/interventional radiologist (IR) approaches have been proposed to manage these damages, though with high failure rates. This individual patient data (IPD) systematic review analyzes the potential risk factors for failure after treatment interventions for BDIs, both surgical and endoscopic/IR. Methods: An extensive literature search was conducted on MEDLINE and Scopus for relevant articles published in English on the management of BDIs after cholecystectomy, between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2023. Our series of BDIs was included. BDIs were always categorized according to the Strasberg's classification. The composite primary endpoints evaluated were the failure of treatment interventions, defined as patient death or the requirement of any other procedure, whatever surgical and/or endoscopic/IR, after the primary treatment. Results: A total of 342 cases were retrieved from our literature analysis, including our series of 19 patients. Among these, three groups were identified: "upfront surgery", "upfront endoscopy and/or IR" and "no upfront treatment", consisting of 224, 109 and 9 patients, respectively. After eliminating the third group, treatment intervention failure was observed overall in 34.2% (114/333) of patients, of whom 80.7% (92/114) and 19.3% (22/114) in the "upfront surgery" and in the "upfront endoscopy/IR" groups, respectively. At multivariable analysis, injury type D and E, and repair in a non-specialized center represented independent predictors of treatment failure in both groups, whereas laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) converted to open and immediate attempt of surgical repair exclusively in the first group. Conclusions: Significant treatment failure rates are responsible for remarkable negative effects on immediate and longer-term clinical outcomes of post-cholecystectomy BDIs. Understanding the important risk factors for this outcome may better guide the most appropriate therapeutical approach and improve clinical decisions in case this serious complication occurs.