0000000000189776
AUTHOR
Sofia K. Mylona
Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: T-Tube or Not T-Tube? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Results
Background The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes after duct-to-duct anastomoses with or without biliary T-tube in orthotopic liver transplantation. Methods We pooled the outcomes of 1027 patients undergoing choledocho-choledochostomy with or without T-tube in 9 of 46 screened trials by means of fixed or random effects models. Results The "without T-tube" and "with T-tube" groups had equivalent outcomes for: anastomotic bile leaks or fistulas, choledocho-jejunostomy revisions, dilatation and stenting, hepatic artery thromboses, retransplantation, and mortality due to biliary complications. The "without T-tube" group had better outcomes when considering "fewer episodes of cholangi…
Corticosteroid-free immunosuppression in liver transplantation: a meta-analysis and meta-regression of outcomes.
To examine the impact of steroid withdrawal from the immunosuppression protocols in liver transplantation. The electronic databases Medline, Embase, Pubmed and the Cochrane Library were searched. Meta-analysis pooled the effects of outcomes of a total of 2590 patients enrolled into 21 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), using classic and modern meta-analytic methods. Meta-analysis of RCTs addressing patients transplanted for any indication showed no differences between corticosteroid-free immunosuppression and steroid-based protocols in most of the analyzed outcomes. More importantly, steroid-free cohorts appeared to benefit in terms of de novo diabetes mellitus development [R.R = 1.86 (1.…