• Mithun V Valappil, Sumit Gulati, Manish Chhabra, Ajay Mandal, Sanjay De Bakshi, Avik Bhattacharyya, and Supriyo Ghatak.
• Surgical Gastroenterology, Calcutta Medical Research Institute, Kolkata, India.
• Postgrad Med J. 2020 Oct 1; 96 (1140): 606-609.

BackgroundThere is paucity of evidence regarding the role of drain in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in acute calculous cholecystitis (ACC), and surgeons have placed the drains based on their experiences, not on evidence-based guidelines. This study aims to assess the value of drain in LC for ACC in a randomised controlled prospective study.Patients And MethodsAll patients with mild and moderate ACC undergoing LC were assessed. Preoperatively, patients with choledocholithiasis, Mirizzi syndrome and biliary stent were excluded. Intraoperatively or postoperatively, patients with complications, partial cholecystectomies and malignancies were excluded. Patients were randomised using computer-generated random numbers into two groups at the end of cholecystectomy before closure. Requirement of radiologically guided (ultrasonography () or CT) percutaneous aspiration/drainage of symptomatic intra-abdominal collection or reoperation; continuation of parenteral antibiotics beyond 24 hours or change in antibiotics empirically or based on peritoneal fluid culture sensitivity; requirement of postoperative USG or CT scan based on postoperative clinical course; wound infection rates; postoperative pain using numeric rating scale at 6 and 24 hours; and the duration of hospital stay in both groups were noted.ResultsForty-two out of 50 consecutive patients were randomised into two equal groups. Pain score at 6 and 24 hours was less in patients without drain. All other complication rates and duration of stay were similar in both groups.ConclusionsDrains should not be placed routinely after LC in ACC as it increases pain and does not help in detecting or decreasing complications.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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