Resident Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Background: Cholecystectomy is commonly performed in children and adolescents, most commonly for gallstones or biliary dyskinesia. While surgical complications have been well documented, medical sequelae such as bloating, persistent pain and dietary restrictions are less commonly understood. There have been few studies that have examined long-term outcomes and quality of life following cholecystectomy among pediatric patients. Objective: Characterize the long-term outcomes and quality of life in children and adolescents after cholecystectomy. Design/Methods: Electronic Medical Record data regarding 1044 patients who underwent cholecystectomy from January 2008 through July 2023 at a single institution will be reviewed. Patients were sent a quality-of-life survey. Statistical analysis will include a Chi-squared test to assess differences in pre-operative comorbidities, indication for cholecystectomy, HIDA results, operative technique, and surgical complications in patients with long-term complications. An independent t test will be performed to compare average age and BMI between groups. Quantitative survey data regarding changes in appetite, bowel movements, vomiting and abdominal pain will be compiled in a descriptive manner. Trends from qualitative survey data (free-text comments) will be manually inspected and sorted by categories based on themes that emerge. Data extraction will be completed by December 2023 and statistical analyses by January 2024. The study was approved by the institutional IRB (No. 19-016218).
