Clinical Outcomes of Delayed Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Patients with Acute Calculous Cholecystitis: A Single Centre Study

Abstract

Background: A delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy is performed as an elective procedure several weeks after a conservative treatment which involves a course of intravenous antibiotics. Aims: To evaluate the clinical outcomes (i.e. hospital stay, mean operative time, re-admissions, and conversion) of delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy among patients with acute calculous cholecystitis operated on in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A six-month retrospective study was conducted at the Department of Surgery, Saint Luke’s General Hospital, Kilkenny, Ireland, from 28th August, 2017, to 1st March, 2018. It included 148 patients with acute calculous cholecystitis who underwent delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the department from January, 2016 to December 2016 and who satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. The age range of patients was between 26 and 59 years, and the overall mean (±SD) age of patients was 41.67 (± 8.23) years. The majority (59.5%) of patients enrolled were aged over 40 years. Among the 148 patients enrolled in this study, 34 (23%) were males and 114 (77%) were females. Only eight (5.4%) patients were converted to open cholecystectomy, and readmission was observed in 21.6% patients. The mean (SD) length of stay was 5.59 (4.42), while the mean length of operative duration was 107.69 (32.15) respectively. Conclusion: Delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy among patients with acute calculous cholecystitis produces a significantly lower likelihood of conversion to open surgery.