A Comparative Study to Assess the Postoperative Morbidity Parameters in Patients Undergoing Uncomplicated Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy with Placement of Subhepatic Drain versus without Subhepatic Drain – A 1-year Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Aim: The aim is to study and assess the postoperative morbidity in patients with placement of postoperative subhepatic drain versus without drain following uncomplicated laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials and Methods: The present study is a 1-year hospital-based randomized controlled trial done between January 2021 and December 2021 at KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Belagavi, on 62 patients randomized into two groups – drain group and nondrain group. Results: Among the two groups, around 52% were male in whom drains were placed as compared to females, who comprised 48.3% ( P = 0.307). Patients who underwent drain placement belonged to the age group of 40–49 years, which accounted for approximately 26% of the total study population. All three patients in 70–80 years of age group had drain placement with nonsignificant P value. Patients who underwent LC without placement of intra-abdominal drainage had a significant amount of collection than patients who underwent drain insertion. Approximately 80.65% of patients were found to have a collection of at least 30 ml in the subhepatic space ( P = 0.0079). The mean hospital stay in the drain group was 5.71 ± 1.74 days, which is higher as compared to 2.74 ± 1.03 days in the nondrain group. Conclusions: Placement of the subhepatic drain following LC had a mixed outcome. The advantage of intra-abdominal drainage is to prevent accumulation of bile or blood in the subhepatic space, thereby preventing complications such as postoperative pyrexia, biliary peritonitis, peritoneal irritation, postoperative shoulder tip pain, and nausea and vomiting. It is also associated with postoperative morbidity, such as increased rates of SSI (s) and longer hospital stays.