Short-term outcomes after laparoscopic ileocolic resection for Crohn's disease. A systematic review

Background: No consensus exists whether ileocolic resection for Crohn's disease (CD) should be carried out by a laparoscopic or open approach. A systematic review was conducted to assess the evidence for short-term advantages of laparoscopic compared to open resection for ileocolic CD.

Methods: The literature search was conducted over the period 01/1991 to 02/2006. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs), clinical controlled trials and comparative studies comparing laparoscopic with open resection for ileocolic CD were included. A quality assessment was performed for all retrieved articles. The main outcome parameters were operating times, conversion rates, major and minor morbidity and hospital stays.

Results: 14 publications encompassing 729 patients were included - 2 were RCTs, 12 were non-RCTs of which 2 were case-matched studies. Although pooling data of operating times was statistically not possible, they were longer for the laparoscopic procedure in the individual studies ranging from 75 to 185 min. Conversions varied between 0 and 16.7%. Postoperative complications requiring reoperation or reported overall morbidity were not different (risk difference -0.01 and -0.05, respectively). Hospital stay after the laparoscopic procedure was 1.90 days shorter (95% CI: 0.83-2.97).

Conclusion: There is evidence that laparoscopic ileocolic resection for CD is associated with shorter hospital stay compared to open ileocolic resection, while morbidity rates are equal and conversion rates are acceptable.