The following is a summary of “Clinical Outcomes of outpatient thyroidectomy: A systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis,” published in the February 2024 issue of Surgery by Nakanishi et al.
This comprehensive meta-analysis’s objective is to assess the safety of outpatient thyroidectomy, specifically focusing on patients discharged within 24 hours or on the same day as the surgery.
A thorough search was conducted across multiple databases, including CENTRAL, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus. Eligible studies were selected for meta-analysis, and the review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022361134).
Incorporating data from 31 studies encompassing 74,328 patients who underwent outpatient thyroidectomy based on 24-hour discharge criteria, the analysis revealed an overall postoperative complication rate of 5.7% (95%CI: 0.049–0.065; I2 = 97.3%). These complications primarily comprised hematoma (0.4%; 95%CI: 0.003–0.005; I2 = 83.4%), recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (0.4%; 95%CI: 0.003–0.006; I2 = 93.5%), and hypocalcemia (1.6%; 95%CI: 0.012–0.019; I2 = 93.7%). Additionally, the rate of readmission was found to be 1.1% (95%CI: 0.007–0.015; I2 = 95.4%). Similar outcomes were observed for same-day discharge criteria.
The comprehensive meta-analysis underscores the safety profile of outpatient thyroidectomy as a viable option in managing thyroid disease for appropriately selected patients.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002961024001351
