Preoperative Percutaneous Drainage of Spontaneous Intra-Abdominal Abscess in Patients With Crohn's Disease: A Meta-Analysis

Goals: We aimed to compare clinical outcomes between percutaneous drainage (PD) with or without further elective surgery and initial surgery for patients with Crohn's disease (CD)-related spontaneous intra-abdominal abscess.

Background: Intra-abdominal abscess is common in patients with CD leading to significant morbidity. The role of PD before abdominal surgery in patients with CD remains controversial.

Study: We performed a meta-analysis comparing PD and surgery as the initial approach to CD-related spontaneous intra-abdominal abscess. Overall complication and recurrent abscess were assessed. Subgroup analyses on initial PD were performed including preoperative PD and PD alone.

Results: A total of 9 studies including 513 patients with CD-related spontaneous intra-abdominal abscesses were included. The overall complication rate was significantly higher in patients undergoing initial surgery compared with those undergoing initial PD [odds ratio (OR)=0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.35-0.96; P=0.03]. In a subgroup analysis, preoperative PD was associated with a significant reduction in overall complication (OR=0.44; 95% CI, 0.23-0.83; P=0.01) as compared with initial surgery. The risk for recurrent abscess was higher in patients who underwent PD alone than those who underwent initial surgery (OR=2.16; 95% CI, 1.03-4.54; P=0.04). No significance difference in postoperative recurrent abscess was found between preoperative PD group and initial surgery group.

Conclusion: Although abdominal surgery appeared to be inevitable in the majority of the patients with CD who develop intra-abdominal abscess, preoperative PD may decrease overall complication after surgery.