Noninferiority of single-incision laparoscopy vs conventional laparoscopy in salpingectomy or salpingotomy for ectopic pregnancy: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Ectopic pregnancy is an emergency frequently requiring laparoscopic intervention. This study aimed to determine whether single-incision laparoscopic surgery is a safe and effective treatment method compared with conventional laparoscopic surgery with multiple ports.

DATA SOURCES

This study searched 6 databases from their inception to May 15, 2024, for articles comparing the safety outcomes of single-incision laparoscopic surgery with conventional laparoscopic surgery in managing women with ectopic pregnancy.

STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

This study included all studies that evaluated the safety outcomes of single-incision laparoscopic surgery compared with conventional laparoscopic surgery in patients with ectopic pregnancy and included at least 1 of our preselected outcomes. In addition, this study included both randomized controlled trials and observational studies.

METHODS

Review Manager (version 5.4.1) and OpenMetaAnalyst software were used to analyze the extracted data. In addition, this study used odds ratios for dichotomous outcomes, mean difference for continuous outcomes, a fixed effects model for homogeneous outcomes, and a random effects model for heterogeneous outcomes. Furthermore, heterogeneity was evaluated using the I² and P values. After removing duplicates, this study identified 83 studies. Using a 2-step screening process, this study excluded non-English and animal studies and included randomized controlled trials and observational studies that included at least 1 of our preselected outcomes. Ultimately, 12 studies were included in the final synthesis.

RESULTS

Our analysis showed a significant favoring of the single-incision laparoscopic surgery group in the pain visual analog scale score (median difference=−0.57; P<.01). However, our study found no statistically significant difference between both procedures in the times of analgesic use (median difference=−0.08; P=.19), intraoperative complications (odds ratio=1.17; P=.8), postoperative complications (odds ratio=1.02; P=.96), conversion to laparotomy (odds ratio=1.40; P=.59), bowel injury (odds ratio=1.42; P=.8), and postoperative fever (odds ratio=0.52; P=.42).

CONCLUSION

The use of single-incision laparoscopic surgery for treating ectopic pregnancy may reduce postoperative pain with similar rates of analgesic use. The incidences of intraoperative and postoperative complications were comparable. Furthermore, the rates of conversion to laparotomy, bowel injury, and postoperative fever were similar between the 2 techniques. Our results seem to show that single-incision laparoscopic surgery is noninferior to conventional laparoscopic surgery for the safe treatment of ectopic pregnancy.