Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37010657›Full record

SynthesisHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2023

Comparison of bilateral to unilateral total extra-peritoneal (TEP) inguinal hernia repair: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

T Hitman, A S R Bartlett, A Bowker, J McLay

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

T HitmanSchool of Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. thit441@aucklanduni.ac.nz.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9953-4381
A S R BartlettDepartment of Surgery, University of Auckland, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand.
A BowkerLaparoscopy Auckland, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0260-5156
J McLayFaculty of Science, Statistics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
University of Auckland · NZ

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeLaparoscopic herniorrhaphy (LH) has become the treatment of choice in many centers for patients with inguinal hernia (IH). Our aim was to compare the morbidity outcomes of bilateral vs unilateral IH repair using the laparoscopic total extra-peritoneal (TEP) technique, to determine whether undertaking bilateral IH repair places patients at additional risk.

methodsManuscripts published up to the end of 2021 on PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched. Patients (> 16 years) undergoing a primary elective unilateral or bilateral TEP operation, using the standard 3-port laparoscopic technique, were identified. Quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE criteria. Meta-analysis was conducted where possible. Where this was not possible, vote counting was conducted using effect direction plots.

resultsEight observational studies, with a total of 18,153 patients were included. Operative time was significantly longer for bilateral operations. There was no significant difference in conversion to open, post-operative seroma, urinary retention, haematoma, and length of hospital stay. There was an increased rate of hernia recurrence in patients undergoing bilateral IH repair.

conclusionAlthough limited by the observational nature of the included studies, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest a differential burden of morbidity between unilateral and bilateral TEP IH repair. As all included papers are from observational studies only, evidence from all outcomes is at best very low quality. This manuscript thereby highlights a need for randomized controlled trials to be conducted in this area.

Indexed as

Hernia, InguinalLaparoscopyHerniorrhaphyHumansPeritoneumPostoperative ComplicationsTreatment OutcomeHernia repairInguinalLaparoscopic surgeryTEP

Identifiers

PMID37010657
PMCPMC10533595
OpenAlexW4362507449

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.