Background: The reconstruction of the pancreas after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is a crucial factor in preventing postoperative complications as pancreatic anastomosis failure is associated with a high morbidity rate and contributes to prolonged hospitalization and mortality. Several techniques have been described for the reconstruction of pancreatic digestive continuity in the attempt to minimize the risk of a pancreatic fistula. The aim of this study was to compare the results of pancreaticogastrostomy and pancreaticojejunostomy after PD.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to January 2015 comparing patients with pancreaticogastrostomy (PG group) versus pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ group). Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility and quality of the studies. The meta-analysis was conducted using either the fixed-effect or the random-effect model.
Results: Eight RCTs describing 1,211 patients were identified for inclusion in the study. The meta-analysis shows that the PG group had a significantly lower incidence rate of postoperative pancreatic fistulas [OR 0.64 (95% confidence interval 0.46-0.86), p = .003], intra-abdominal abscesses [OR 0.53 (95% CI, 0.33-0.85), p = .009] and length of hospital stay [MD -1.62; (95% CI 2.63-0.61), p = .002] than the PJ group, while biliary fistula, mortality, morbidity, rate of delayed gastric emptying, reoperation, and bleeding did not differ between the two groups.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that the most effective treatment for reconstruction of pancreatic continuity after pancreatoduodenectomy is pancreaticogastrostomy. However, the advantage of the latter could potentially be demonstrated through further RCTs, including only patients at high risk of developing pancreatic fistulas.
Keywords: meta-analysis; pancreatic cancer; pancreatic surgery; pancreaticoduodenectomy; pancreaticogastrostomy; pancreaticojejunostomy.