ArticleHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2025
Incidence and clinical characteristics of occult inguinal hernias: a retrospective analysis of laparoscopic repair.
Article in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2025. 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.
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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Should occult contralateral inguinal hernias be repaired during unilateral TAPP? A systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical outcomes of concurrent repair of occult contralateral inguinal hernias during TAPP: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Article
- Laparoscopic treatment of Amyand-like hernia: a rare case report and literature review.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOccult inguinal hernia is a unique clinical challenge characterized by asymptomatic presentation and the absence of detectable signs on physical examination, leading to frequent misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis. The advancement of laparoscopic hernia surgery has facilitated the identification of occult hernias, yet effective diagnostic and predictive methods remain lacking.
objectiveThis study aims to evaluate the incidence and clinical characteristics of occult inguinal hernias detected during laparoscopic unilateral inguinal hernia repair and to provide evidence-based recommendations for their management.
methodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 868 patients diagnosed preoperatively with unilateral inguinal hernia at the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January 2013 and December 2020. All patients underwent laparoscopic hernia repair surgery, during which both sides of the inguinal area were explored for occult hernias. Statistical analysis, including univariate and multivariate logistic regression, was performed to identify significant predictors of occult hernias.
resultsIntraoperative detection of occult inguinal hernias was observed in 225 patients (25.92%). Patients with occult inguinal hernia had a higher median age of 68 (59, 76) years, compared to 63 (52, 73) years for those with unilateral inguinal hernia. The incidence was notably higher in females (34.61%) compared to males (25.37%). Stratified by hernia type, the prevalence of occult hernias was 23.84% among patients with indirect hernias (154/646) and 31.75% among those with direct hernias (60/189). Among the 225 patients with occult hernias, 129(57.33%) occult hernias cases occurred on the left side, and 142(63.11%) occult hernias cases were of the indirect type. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified female gender, high age, and the presence of high-risk factors for intra-abdominal hypertension as independent and significant predictors of occult hernia development.
conclusionOccult inguinal hernia remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. For older patients presenting with unilateral inguinal hernia and high-risk factors for intra-abdominal hypertension, we recommend TAPP exploration and simultaneous repair of contralateral occult hernias.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40069471What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.